Sailors in wage blunder
ROYAL Navy personnel will have to repay part of their wages after a blunder by the Ministry of Defence.
A total of 423 current and former servicemen and women were overpaid by £1.3million, it has emerged.
They will lose up to four days’ pay a month until the money is repaid.
One sailor has been told he must repay £17,000. For others it is just £9.
The MoD said the error had been going on for a number of years.
In a letter to those affected, it said a write-off had been considered but deemed “inappropriate”.
One serviceman said: “There is a lot of worry that at a time of recession we will have less in our pay packet, through no fault of our own.
“Many did not notice the over-pay because they were busy. It is especially bad if they are being made redundant.”
There is a lot of worry that at a time of recession we will have less in our pay packet, through no fault of our own
An MoD spokesman said: “We have apologised to all of those affected and arrangements are in place for repayment of monies wrongly received.
“Procedures are in place to prevent any hardship to individuals.”