This blog is a direct transcription of our Youtube video: What Happens If My Employer Overpays Me? 4 Reasons Why You Should Always Tell Your Boss
Have you ever been overpaid by your employer or known someone else who has and at the time have you wondered what to do? I’m going to tell you from my personal experience what you should do and what you shouldn’t do in that situation. So stay tuned for four compelling reasons why you should always tell your employer if you’ve been overpaid.
Should you declare to your employer that you’ve been overpaid?
Now I like free money, who doesn’t like free money? If you get that free money in your bank account one fateful day, you look in there’s a little bit more money. The question is, what should you do? should you let your employer know, or should you actually just let it keep going and maybe they won’t find out? I’m going to give you four compelling reasons why you should actually tell your employer and why it’s going to separate you from the pack.
Reason #1
Now the first reason which you might not be aware of when it happens is, “they’ll eventually find out.” Now they could find out a week later, they could find out six months later. But, it’s gonna come out at some stage and it’s far better that you tell them than they tell you. When they tell you and you’re like oh, uh… I didn’t, I didn’t know, they don’t actually believe you because they know when people are underpaid, the majority of people identify it.
Reason #2
Now the second reason is that, all of their trust. Now imagine you’ve built up this trust over a period of time, you’ve been there for three years, and people know you, you’re trustworthy in terms of work you do, you’ve built this reputation. The point at which they realize is that you’ve accepted money that’s not yours, and you’ve not said anything about it, that trust goes down the toilet, a little bit like a sand castle that just gets smashed that you build up for many years. So that’s another reason why you should definitely tell them.
Reason #3
The third reason is that you actually have to pay it back, it’s not your money. So if you’ve been overpaid 500 dollars or 5000 dollars, and you’ve spent that, it’s essentially been a loan that you’ve taken, and you’ve got to pay it back. So every time that you get paid, every week, month, or fortnight, there’s going to be an amount that’s deducted and you’re going to be reminded of this thing that you did, or didn’t do. That was a mistake and you actually haven’t benefited financially at all.
Reason #4
Now the fourth reason why you should tell your employer that you’ve been overpaid is that you will stand out from the pack. Remember I said that nine times out of ten people actually don’t tell their employer and only one person out of ten tells your employer? If you become that one person, then you demonstrate that you’re trustworthy, that when you’re given free money you don’t accept it, and you’re somebody who they can count on. So think about that sandcastle you built, you’re building another level on top of it that most people don’t have.
So in summary, If this situation happens to you or if someone you know gets overpaid by their employer, do not tell them to keep the money, do not keep the money yourself. Tell your employer that it’s happened. You’re trying to be a high performer, these are the sorts of things you need to do inch by inch to build your reputation. Don’t take the short-term benefit of accepting the money because it’s going to become worse for you in the long run.
