Salary debt negotiations end in disagreement

Disagreement on how and when the debts were incurred

We disagree with the employer on how and when the debts were incurred and the process for collecting it. The employer says that all debts arose in the changeover to the new system, in November 2024. However, the only month in which the member has received too much money is the first month he or she was on sick leave. In most cases, the overpayment is automatically corrected on the next salary, but in cases where the member continues to be on sick leave, there is no salary payment to correct against. The debt then follows, sometimes for several years. Now the employer wants all such debts to be paid in, plus tax. In other words, if you were paid SEK 10,000 too much, you now need to pay in about SEK 13,000 to the employer.

It is important when the debt arises, because the employer may only correct freely three months after the debt has arisen. After that, the Set-Off Act (kvittningslagen in Swedish) applies, and the employee is then entitled to have the debt assessed based on his or her ability to pay it. The Set-Off Act exists precisely so that employers cannot come back a long time later and claim that they have made an incorrect salary payment. In many cases with members on long-term sick leave, that month is several years in the past.

Our most vulnerable members are affected

Since the members affected by the salary debts are precisely those who have been on long-term sick leave, they are also some of our most vulnerable members. Saco-S believes that the debts should be cancelled in the first place. We see how many members feel very bad and the situation that has arisen has also damaged the possibility of returning to work because the rehabilitation in many cases has been affected by getting a large unexpected debt that you cannot pay.

Process deficiencies

We also claim that Lund University has failed in the process in a number of ways. The choice faced by members - to pay the debt on invoice or to adjust the gross debt against salary - is incorrect in cases where the member has been on sick leave for more than three months, as the Set-Off Act must then be applied. The employer has thereby deprived the member of having their debt assessed under the Set-Off Act. Members have also been faced with this choice without the employer being able to clarify how large the debt is and when it actually arose. In several cases, the employer has also gone against the wishes of several members to receive an invoice instead of a free correction. This has led to members being unable to dispute the invoice.

The employer's handling has also made it more difficult for the managers of those on long-term sick leave to help their employees when there are delegations that imply that managers are not allowed to decide on cancellation, regardless of how serious the situation is for the person on sick leave. Lund University has thereby decoupled financial responsibility from responsibility for the work environment and rehabilitation, and we believe that this undermines management.

Have you also been affected?

We would like members to contact us via kansli@saco-s.lu.se so that we can support everyone in this matter, as the employer has refused our request to be informed of which members are affected.