AUTHORITY
Income and Employment Support Act (IESA), sections 16(1) and (4), section 35(1) and (5)

INTENT
To outline the process to ensure clients are aware of their rights if they choose to repay an overpayment before it has been assessed and/or declared a debt due.

POLICY
There may be extenuating circumstances where a client chooses to voluntarily repay an overpayment before the standard notification process is completed, the overpayment has not yet been assessed and/or declared a debt due. Staff must make a reasonable effort to ensure clients are aware they are waiving their rights to the current process of administrative fairness imbedded in the Notice of Overpayment policy.

Before staff can accept a client’s payment for an overpayment that has not yet been assessed, the client is asked to sign the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (EMP12208).

Note
This policy is different from the Repayment Agreements section where payments are not voluntary and the client must sign the EMP 0976B Repayment Agreement.

By voluntarily agreeing to repay the amount, and signing the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (EMP12208) the amount becomes a debt, owing to the government.

Program staff may accept payment once the client has been made aware of their rights and has signed the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (Agreement and Waiver). By signing the Agreement and Waiver, the client acknowledges they are waiving the following standard procedures:      

• to be notified in writing of the assessed overpayment, the amount they are required to repay, the amount they are exempt from repaying and their right to appeal; and
• to provide additional information that may impact the amount or value they are required to repay.

By waiving the right to provide additional information, the director (or delegate) will rely on the information available and will not have any additional information to consider when assessing the overpayment or making the decision to exempt the client from the requirement to repay.

As the client is voluntarily choosing to repay the amount, and waiving the right to be notified in writing, the client will not receive a written decision of the director. If requested by the client in the future, a written decision of the director will be provided confirming:

• the assessed overpayment and the amount or value they are required to repay; and,
• that the client has the right to appeal.

If at some point in the future, the client reconsiders their choice to repay the overpayment and to sign the Agreement and Waiver, the decision of the director with respect to assessment and repayment will be based solely on the information available. The client will not be provided extra time to submit additional information for the director to consider when assessing the overpayment and determining if full, partial or no repayment is required.

Assessed Overpayment (30-day appeal period remains in force)
Clients who have received written notification that they are required to repay an assessed overpayment and choose to repay the overpayment before the 30-day appeal period expires are not required to sign the Agreement and Waiver.

PROCEDURES

Accepting a Client’s Voluntary Repayment of an Overpayment
After receiving notice of a potential overpayment, an individual may choose to bypass the overpayment process and voluntarily repay the amount at an Alberta Supports Centre. As the overpayment has not gone through the process imbedded in the Notice of Overpayment policy, the client is paying before the overpayment has been assessed and determined a debt due.

Before payment can be accepted, clients who choose to repay an overpayment that has not yet been assessed, are required to sign the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (EMP12208).

In these situations, the following procedures are applied.  

Staff at the reception desk:

1. Ask the person if they making a payment towards an overpayment or debt that applies to an ETW, BFE or Learner file;
2. Engage with the worker to confirm if the payment applies to:

• A potential overpayment that has only been identified (overpayment is not yet assessed and the client has 30 days to submit more information to the program), or
• An assessed overpayment (client’s 30-day appeal period is still in force); or
• An established debt due.
  

The Worker completes the following tasks.

1. The worker must make every reasonable effort to inform the client of their rights under the Criteria for Exempting the Requirement to Repay an Overpayment and the Notice of Overpayment policies before the client is asked to sign the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (EMP12208).
   • If the 30-day period for a potential overpayment remains in force, the worker informs the client of the right to provide additional information to the program which could result in a director decision that no overpayment has occurred or an exemption from repaying all or part of the amount
   • The worker also reminds the client of their right to appeal the director’s decision, which may result in an appeal panel ruling that no overpayment has occurred or an exemption from repaying all or part of the amount.
2. The worker asks the client to sign the Agreement and Waiver and witnesses the client signing this agreement.
3. The worker signs the Agreement and Waiver under the Director (or delegate) section.
   Note
   By voluntarily agreeing to repay the amount and signing the Agreement and Waiver, the amount becomes a debt due, owing to the government. As such, the worker may sign the Agreement and Waiver as the director’s delegate, regardless of the amount that is being repaid.
4. The worker enters the overpayment and updates it to permanent status in the Recoveries System, transitioning the overpayment to a debt so that payment may be applied. (The worker ensures that the debt letter in Recoveries is not issued to the client until payment has been applied to this debt).
5. The worker enters Mobius Notes and Internal/External comments in Recoveries, documenting:

• All relevant information related to the overpayment (e.g., Amount, Period of Assistance, Reason that the overpayment occurred, etc.);
• The amount and date of the client’s voluntary payment; and,
• That the client has been made aware of their rights and has signed the Agreement and Waiver.
  

Once the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver is signed, staff at the reception desk:

1. Provide a photo-copy of the signed Agreement and Waiver to the client;
2. Accept the client’s payment;
3. Issue a receipt for the payment; and 
4. Follow the Finance cash handling procedure.

Client Reconsiders the Decision to Repay
A client may reconsider the decision to repay the overpayment after signing the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (EMP12208). If this occurs and the client requests that the program review the overpayment and issue a decision, the following procedures apply.

The worker advises the client that:

1. The director (or delegate) will review this matter and confirm whether the overpayment should have been assessed and if so, determine if full, partial or no repayment was required;
2. The decision of the director will be based on information available and no additional documentation submitted by the client, will be considered; and
3. The director (or delegate) will issue a decision letter advising the client of:

• The assessed overpayment, 
• The amount required to be repaid; and,
• The right to appeal.

The Worker:

1. Prepares appropriate background materials related to the overpayment for review by the Supervisor.

The Supervisor:

1. Reviews the overpayment, and forwards applicable background material via an email to CSS.DeliverySupports@gov.ab.ca requesting that the statutory director provide a written notice of decision to the client (e.g., Letter EMP12210 – Full Repayment Required or Letter EMP12209 – Partial Repayment Required, as applicable).
2. Depending on the statutory director’s decision, ensures that the correct notice of decision letter is issued to the client.
3. If applicable, takes steps to issue payment of a credit balance to the client should the director’s decision prescribe that no overpayment has occurred or that the client is exempt from repaying all or part of the amount owing (refer to procedures under the Credit Balances policy section); and,
4. Ensures that the director’s decision is documented in Mobius Notes and Internal/External Comments in the Recoveries system.
   

Assessed Overpayment (30-day appeal period in force)

The client is not required to sign the Voluntary Repayment Agreement and Waiver (EMP12208) and the client’s payment can be accepted.

In these situations, the following procedures are applied.

Staff at the reception desk:

1. Accept the client’s payment;
2. Issue a receipt for the payment; and 
3. Follow the Finance cash handling procedure.

The Worker:

1. Enters Mobius Notes and Internal/External comments in Recoveries, indicating the amount of, and the date that the client made a voluntary payment; and
2. Updates the overpayment to permanent status in the Recoveries System, transitioning the overpayment to a debt, so that payment may be applied.