OT: ethical question


bmw675

New Member
what would you do?

hypothetically ;), you start a new job and your pay is supposed to be 'X'. once you pass your test you get 'X+$7.'

you get your first check and it is $8 more than what you should be getting ($1 more than what you would get once you pass the test).
do you tell them, let them find it, or pass the test as quick as possible...
i know what you should do, but how would everyone play it out.
 

nlpyle

New Member
It is a new job. The impression you give when not reporting any issues can give them a bad taste. Maybe it is not a mistake. I would ask HR and see what is going on. Just my thoughts, at least they would know that would be able to count on you to raise concern when things are out of place.
 

redwing-2001

New Member
here is another angle: eventually someone in payroll is going to catch the error and want the money back. the longer it goes on, the more money has to go back and you may be without a paycheck for a while.
do the right thing.

what would you do?

hypothetically ;), you start a new job and your pay is supposed to be 'X'. once you pass your test you get 'X+$7.'

you get your first check and it is $8 more than what you should be getting ($1 more than what you would get once you pass the test).
do you tell them, let them find it, or pass the test as quick as possible...
i know what you should do, but how would everyone play it out.
 

geko

New Member
what would you do?

hypothetically ;), you start a new job and your pay is supposed to be 'X'. once you pass your test you get 'X+$7.'

you get your first check and it is $8 more than what you should be getting ($1 more than what you would get once you pass the test).
do you tell them, let them find it, or pass the test as quick as possible...
i know what you should do, but how would everyone play it out.
Tell them.

This actually happened to a guy I manage a few years ago. He got paid twice one month. Rather than tell anyone he decided to pay off a loan, well intentioned but rather naive I thought. They did catch up with him the following month and stopped a 1/4 of his pay for the next four months - which hurt.
 

Halon

New Member
Definitely +1 on to report the issue. With the job market how it is (at least here in Phoenix) you don't want to start out on the wrong foot, do you?
 

Heineken

Senior Member
Elite Member

Detrich

New Member
I'm assuming ur using $1 variance to signify that the difference is very very small?

If thats the case I wouldnt sweat it. Most compensation packages are never to the penny anyways.

So, if u get paid, say $100k per year, u don't see exactly $100k on your W2 at year end. There are miltiple factors such as pay periods (cut-off dates for payroll processing), OT, bonuses etc etc. that skew the numbers.

Now, if you saw a very material variance- and u know it's not due to any of the above reasons- then use ur best judgement.

Don't sweat the small stuff I think...


+1 on letting them now about it... you never know, it might play in your favor. If it is a union position contact your BA, maybe it isn't an error, you might want to get a copy of the contract :p .
 

bmw675

New Member
this is my feelings exactly.
its a new job, the company has about 4,000 people, so i doubt it is a 'test'.

i am planning on telling them monday, b/c that is the first day i will see any of the bosses. i just don't want to open my mouth if everyone that has that title (about 13 of us) is getting the same 'deal'.
 

dart1963

Super Moderator
Elite Member

husker525

New Member
Always take the "hard right, over the easy wrong". It is a motto I live by. Honesty and integrity make a man. Enough said...
 

Blue-Sun

Elite Member

bmw675

New Member
I've worked in Accounting for over 25 years, yes payroll administrators make mistakes. They are human, too!

I would tell my boss, first thing Monday morning & also report the error to a payroll admin.

It will show integrity on your part!!

Just my 2 cents!!

As a side note, forgot to pay myself last payroll run (Now that felt stupid!!)
thanks everyone,
i guess ill see how it turns out monday.
 

pyrocpu

New Member
I'm kinda with Detrich on this one...$8 over $100K/yr for instance... that's a rounding error... It really depends on the scale of things. I'd let my employer slide if they accidentally dropped $8 from my paycheck. Hope they don't, but $8 isn't really worth the hassle in the grand scheme of things.

However, if you're hourly and your pay is $10/yr, and it's now $17-18hr; OK, then you'll definitely want to say something. Bring that to the attention of your boss first (not that he/she can do much, this move is just for karma points!), then HR.
 

bmw675

New Member
I'm kinda with Detrich on this one...$8 over $100K/yr for instance... that's a rounding error... It really depends on the scale of things. I'd let my employer slide if they accidentally dropped $8 from my paycheck. Hope they don't, but $8 isn't really worth the hassle in the grand scheme of things.

However, if you're hourly and your pay is $10/yr, and it's now $17-18hr; OK, then you'll definitely want to say something. Bring that to the attention of your boss first (not that he/she can do much, this move is just for karma points!), then HR.
sorry for not being clear at first, its $8/hour difference. i told a coworker today, and he laughed and said that im going to have to make a big deal about it b/c no one there will want to admit they were wrong.
 

Detrich

New Member
once upon a time, i had a co-worker who left the company... and, then a few months later HR came around our dept trying to track him down. they said after he left they noticed that he hadn't cashed his last couple of paychecks... <lol>

needless to say, we all had a good laugh, because it means he must've been financially well-off or something to forget to cash his pay checks. turns out, he was so busy (and stressed) getting ready to get married that i guess things got busy and he really forgot to cash his checks... hahaha go figure... we all went to his wedding and had a blast by the way...
 

bmw675

New Member
Update:
i notified the correct department about the mistake. they were very apologetic, thanked me for bringing it to their attention and said that they would correct it immediately.... 2 weeks later, they have now corrected it the wrong direction. :don'tknow: :noworries:
 


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