However good we like to think our sytems/procedures are, mistakes will happen and an overpayment of wages/salary/expenses is quite often the result (our payroll dept. often sees evidence of the mistakes made by groups with their payroll submissions which lead to overpayment situations). 

What can you do about this?

Can you get it back?

How do you get your money back?

The basic answer is yes, employers have the legal right to recover an overpayment of salary. This usually can be done via an automatic deduction from the next week/month's wages run,  BUT the employer will have to show that they are acting fairly and reasonably in the manner of how they carry out that recovery. If it is a large sum of money, a replayment plan over a longer period of time will have to be agreed with the employee.

The following CA Plus Advice Guide provides this information in more detail for you.

Overpayment Advice Note (Word)
Overpayment Advice Note (PDF)