Westminster Council overpaid staff a total of £480,000 over five years, according to data released through Freedom of Information requests by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). The council stated that £99,000 of this amount remains outstanding, with the remainder successfully recovered.
The overpayments resulted primarily from payroll cut-off timings when employees left the organisation after payments had already been processed. A council spokesperson said the authority “makes a considerable effort to recover any overpayment which is not returned straight away.”
Payroll operations for Westminster City Council are managed by an outsourced provider. The council said this provider identifies and calculates any overpayments, issues invoices and accompanying letters to affected individuals, and follows up to three times if repayment is not made. Should these efforts fail, the case is transferred to a debt recovery agency for further action.
A council representative described such incidents as routine within large organisations. “Occasional overpayment is almost always due to staff leaving, changing role, or working hours mid-month and is common in large organisations with monthly payroll,” the spokesperson said. “The vast majority of this money is recouped immediately and the council makes a considerable effort to recover any overpayment which is not returned straight away.”
Departmental data released to the LDRS showed that the housing and commercial partnership division recorded the largest total of overpayments, at £91,000. Children’s services followed with £86,000, while regeneration, economy and planning reported £76,517.
The figures indicate that while errors are infrequent, the financial scale of mispayments can be significant in complex payroll systems where staff changes occur mid-cycle. The council noted that recovery mechanisms are in place and that most sums are reclaimed promptly.
The disclosure that Westminster Council overpaid staff highlights the administrative challenges of managing payroll across multiple departments and employment types. The council continues to monitor its payroll processes to reduce the likelihood of future discrepancies.
