Shocking findings reveal that over half of the UK’s workforce has been affected by a payroll error with one in five admitting they wouldn’t even notice the mistake.

According to number crunching research by ADP Employer Services and YouGov, 11 per cent do not regularly check their payslips whilst three quarters admit they don’t even understand the information presented on their pay statement.

In further bad news for employees, underpayment is the most likely error to occur, with 41 per cent falling victim to this, comparing to just 17 per cent who have been overpaid.

Unsurprisingly, employees are most likely to report an underpayment than an overpayment – only 2 per cent said they didn’t report a shortfall compared to 20 per cent who have kept quiet about an extra generous pay packet.

In a warning to those that are tempted to keep quiet, ADP point to the case of Royal Bank of Scotland employee, Lisa Masters, who was recently given a nine-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work for blowing a £30,000 overpayment by her employer.

Ian Sparrow, ADP freedom director, said: “Payroll errors could not only cause both employers and employees to be out of pocket, they also cost payroll and HR professionals time in rectifying problems. Employers should encourage employees to consistently check this information and educate them on what to look out for.”