The employee joined Hans Anders on 20 July 2020. Her salary for July 2020 was EUR 520.46 net. She was dismissed during her probationary period on 6 August 2020. On 25 August 2020, Hans Anders paid her a salary of EUR 1,196.64 net for August 2020. Hans Anders subsequently wrote to her stating that EUR 973.08 net had been overpaid. The employee refused to repay this amount, and Hans Anders sought repayment.
Both parties agreed that Hans Anders had paid her salary for the whole month of August 2020, even though her employment had ended on 6 August 2020. This meant the legal basis for paying wages for the period from 6 to 31 August 2020 no longer existed, so those wages had been paid without legal justification. Hans Anders was entitled to reclaim this amount from her. The fact that the overpayment resulted from Hans Anders’s own error did not remove the obligation to repay it. Nor did the fact that the employee did not immediately realise she had been overpaid mean she was not required to repay the excess amount. She was not entitled to reasonably assume that the salary paid in August matched the hours she had actually worked between 1 and 6 August. The employee was ordered to repay EUR 973.08 net to Hans Anders.
For the full ruling, click here (in Dutch).
