Police and PSOs forced to give back cash after ‘patience in bargaining’ pay bungle

The state’s 17,000 police and PSOs have been notified of an error, meaning they will have to give back money.

The error relates to a bargaining payment, which is a one-off sum given to acknowledge time and effort in a negotiating process. Picture: Nadir Kinani

All Victoria Police members and protective services officers will have to give back money they received in an $880,000 pay bungle last week.

A force spokeswoman said an error had been made in calculating a “patience in bargaining” payment allocated in last Thursday’s pay.

The spokeswoman said the average overpayment was $49.84 and the median was $14.71.

The highest came in at $264.16 and the lowest six cents.

The bungle affects all Victoria Police members and protective services officers. Picture: Sarah Matray

“Victoria Police has informed members of the error and is making arrangements with them for repayment, in accordance with the process outlined in the enterprise agreement,” the spokeswoman said.

The state’s 17,000 police and PSOs will have the option of having the overpayment taken from a future pay packet or to get square via a payment plan.

The total overpaid was $880,792.40.

Patience in bargaining payments are one-off sums given to acknowledge time and effort in a negotiating process.

Originally published as Police and PSOs forced to give back cash after ‘patience in bargaining’ pay bungle