Payroll problems | Hundreds of BBC staff on repayment plans after being overpaid £4m

The BBC has accidentally overpaid workers by £4 million over the past four years, new figures show.

Reports from the Telegraph show that more than 839 affected employees have been placed on a payment recovery plan, with the average amount owed being around £1,700.

However, it has been reported that the national broadcaster had opted not to pursue ex-employees for any wages they owe back, due to the resources it would take. As such, the BBC is said to have written off nearly 500 cases of overpayments - amounting to more than £500,000.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Erroneous payments are rare and occur in 0.24 per cent of payments.