Worker Continues Getting Paid For Months After Quitting Because Nobody Noticed — 'I Never Heard A Word'
She's not the only one something like this has happened to.
GaudiLab | Shutterstock One of the hardest parts about deciding to leave your job is the hit your bank account will take. This is why it’s always a good idea to have something else lined up before you leave. After all, everyone has to pay the bills somehow.
One worker wasn’t really sure what to expect after she quit her job. She certainly didn’t think she would continue to receive a paycheck for months after, but that’s exactly what happened. Apparently, no one ever realized the mistake occurred, because she got to keep the money.
The employee shared her story online, but it didn’t really shock anyone.
She posted in the confession section, which seemed appropriate based on the information she was sharing. “I quit my retail job a few years back,” she recalled. “I put in my two weeks, said my goodbyes, and thought I was done.”
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The worker was very surprised to find out that she was, in fact, not done, at least not monetarily. “A couple weeks later I [checked] my account, and there’s a paycheck sitting there like I was still working,” she said. “At first I figured maybe it was for leftover hours or something. But then another check hit. And another.”
For months, she kept getting paid for a job she was no longer doing, all while really doing nothing. “This went on for, like, four months straight,” she continued. “I’d be sitting at home watching Netflix, and boom, direct deposit like I’d just worked two full 40 hour weeks.”
“I kept expecting HR to call me or send a letter, but … nothing,” she said. “I didn’t go crazy spending it because I was paranoid they’d want it back, but I definitely used it for rent and groceries.” One day, however, the money just stopped showing up as easily as it had been deposited in the first place.
Other workers tried to make sense of what happened while sharing their own similar stories.
One person who commented seemed to have the most likely explanation. “The payroll person who forgot to take you off didn’t want to get in trouble, so they quietly turned off your checks without alerting anyone,” they guessed.
Others shared stories of similar things that had happened to them. One person said they had received a $10,000 bonus for their 15-year anniversary with the company, except they had only worked there 12 years. They got another $10,000 for their supposed 20-year anniversary. They had documented conversations with HR, but no one ever did anything.
Some other commenters had friends who looked out for them. One said that they let their best friend, who was also their line manager, know they got another job. She advised them to wait until the next day to resign. In the morning, they were told that their job had been made redundant, and they got to start the new job and keep the redundancy pay.
Of course, this does call the integrity of the whole situation into question.
While it would be nice to be given some money you didn’t have to work for, it definitely makes you question the ethics behind what this employee did and whether or not she could be considered dishonest. According to Complete Payroll Solutions' David Polaski, “Accidentally overpaying employees is more common than you may think.”
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However, they noted that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows employers to request that they receive any money they overpaid to an employee back. Some local laws may complicate this process, but they are legally entitled to the money. If the employee has left the company, legal action may be required.
Technically, since the company didn’t request this worker return the overpayment, she wasn’t required to return it. It still feels a little iffy knowing that she kept it without even getting in touch with her former employer, though.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
