Help with Legal Questions about Final Discharge

Questioner

In my termination agreement, a final discharge was signed after implementation of all the points mentioned (no amount was mentioned for the anniversary payment) and that there is no longer any claim based on, for example, the social plan. I received the final settlement in October. Now it turns out in March that the employer made a mistake with the anniversary payment. Here, the full salary was paid out instead of according to my part-time hours. The employer is now claiming an amount back. According to the employer, I should have known that this amount was too high, and it is human that a mistake was made in the salary admin. Do I have to pay this, is it correct that the final waiver does not apply here?

Lawyer

That does depend on the content of the agreement, but in principle it is true that final discharge is also final discharge. If the ex-employer persists, you can contact me for advice or assistance if desired. As a lawyer, I have a lot of experience with these types of cases.

Lawyer

Final discharge means that you can no longer claim anything from the employer. Conversely, the employer can no longer claim anything from you. You can no longer add any points to the settlement agreement. In this case, the employer has fulfilled his obligations. He has paid the jubilee bonus. However, he has paid too much. This probably does not fall under the final discharge. You could have known that too much was paid. The answer from colleague Snoek is therefore too simplistic. If the employer wants the money back and you do not pay, the employer must go to court. Whether he will do so depends on the amount. The wording of the agreement is also important. The question is whether you want to take the risk? Consultation with an expert lawyer is therefore advisable.

Questioner

the amount is about 2600 net that they are claiming back, also they made a mistake when paying out the lump sum in my opinion to only withhold 42% payroll tax. I read on the tax website that they should have withheld this immediately. Now I get a back assessment of 20000 euros and next year I have to pay at least 240 euros wealth tax on that. My ex-employer is not to blame, they get away with it, making mistakes is human.

Lawyer

I would like to advise and assist you further but then I will have to see the settlement agreement. There is more going on as I understand it because you are now also suffering damage.

Lawyer

A recovery of Euro 2,600.00 is quite a lot for an anniversary bonus. The additional assessment of Euro 20,000.00 is a completely new point. There must be a very high compensation. There is a very high exemption for wealth tax. Do you mean wealth tax or the fiscal addition in box 3? From what I read, there is more going on than your first question indicated. This can therefore no longer be solved/answered via this website. Further investigation is required based on the exact data/documents.