By Liew Hanqing and Juliana June Rasul

WHEN she received her performance bonus in March, she used it to make the downpayment for her wedding package.

But this secondary school teacher must now return most of it to the Ministry of Education (MOE).

She and about 200 of her colleagues were asked to do this in an e-mail they got last week.

A MOE spokesman said the wrong payments were the result of a system error. 'About 200 teachers who graduated last December were overpaid performance bonuses,' she said, adding that MOE has since rectified the error.

'We have written to the teachers to apologise... and to ask for repayment of the over-payment by 8 Oct.'

Teachers contacted by The New Paper said the e-mail asked for a cheque to be sent to MOE.

The New Paper understands that the bonus payments range from $1,000 to $2,500, and a large chunk of what each individual got must be repaid.

MOE explained in the e-mail that the teachers had been paid for a year's service when they should have been paid for just 31 days.

Affected teachers said that while they understood it was an error, they were upset that it was spotted so late.

The bonuses paid out in March were reflected in their payslips, giving them no reason to suspect an error, they said.

Said one secondary school teacher: 'What miffed my colleagues and me is that the mistake was picked up only six months after the bonus had been paid.

'I'm sure I'm not the only one who has spent all or part of the bonus.

'This could have been avoided if they had informed us immediately.'

Bonus mostly spent

The error affected only those who started teaching in January.

One teacher said she had discussed the matter with disgruntled colleagues who had got married or bought a home in the last six months.

'The money would have been put towards big purchases,' she said.

Another teacher said the error had 'disrupted' his financial planning.

A secondary school teacher, who is getting married later this year, said the situation is 'not ideal' but she will repay the amount. 'I understand that it's a mistake. I don't think it happens very often,' she said.

Some teachers also felt that receiving an e-mail asking them to return part of the bonus was not an ideal way of communication.

One teacher said the notification should have come from 'someone with authority, perhaps an HR director'.

Another said he would have preferred MOE to contact his school directly, as well as use formal correspondence.

'I felt it was quite rude to demand money from us through an e-mail,' said the teacher. 'When it comes to matters like this, there should definitely be an official letter.'

He is discussing with other teachers whether to lodge a formal complaint.

He suggested that the repayment should be waived.

'I understand that this is a costly mistake on their part, but as my employers, they should be willing and able to face the consequences of their mistake,' he said.

'Does this mean that each time I get a bonus in future, I have to think twice before spending it?'

MOE said it has agreed to requests to extend the repayment deadline to 31 Dec for all affected teachers.

'For individuals who are unable to repay the full amount, the Ministry will consider their circumstances on a case by case basis and allow them to repay by instalments,' the spokesman said.

MOE did not say how much in erroneous bonuses were paid out.

Last year, 12 cases of wrong payment were discovered in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras), eight of which were discovered by the Auditor-General's Office (AGO).

The cases ranged from underpayment of $1,322.52 to overpayment of $16,800.

This article was first published in The New Paper.