Hi After speaking to one of the people on the helpline i am writing a letter to my OR about a £700 bonus (before tax)l received in my last pay packet.what a shock and bad timing.
Does this sound ok
I received my wage slip for Oct and realised that i had been given a bonus of £500 after tax. This was a shock as i never thought i would get one as they have been making people redundant this week. This bonus is calculated over the year depending on turnover. I never mentioned it as i did not think i would get one,as work is very slow and i certainly dont think i will be getting one in the future. This money works out at an extra £40 a month over the year. This still puts me under the allowance for an IPA so i would like to think i would be able to keep this money. Please advise
When i did my I&E i only had £10 disposable income left.
If you want to make a case for keeping this money then you are going to have to come up with a really good reason, such as car repair bill or vets bill etc. Other wise it is very unlikely that they will let you keep all if any of this money.
The letter is good in the sense that you are declaring something received rather than saying nothing which could end up looking like you had something to hide. I would send the letter but please take out the bit that says 'This still puts me under the allowance for an IPA so i would like to think i would be able to keep this money.'
It is better not to come across to the OR that you are conscious of the possibility of an IPA/IPO and want to avoid one. Of course you want to avoid one (so does anyone) but it just feels best to me not to overtly mention it in dealings with the OR. Jusy make sure you account for your expenditure and see to it that you use up all allowances in terms of what is allowable expenditure. Let the OR decide if you should get an IPA/IPO as that is their job, after all. Best not to mention it in your proposed letter or any future letter.
Another point for a future date: don't ask the OR at any stage if you will get an early discharge. I almost did but bit my tongue as they don't like to be hustled in any way.
Thanks for your thoughts but its too late the letter has gone, i did change a few thing so it was not so blunt, i said i had put the money to one side in case they wanted it. I was advised to put about being under the IPA allowance by one of the advisors on the helpline. i would not have put it otherwise.
Good luck, just had a similar experience and i telephoned the OR office and i was pleasantly surprised with the answer that i received. Best to be upfront with the OR as i've said before, they are human!! Hope it works out for you Nat
does this letter sound OK ?
Posted - 26 October 2008 : 21:07:56
