Comment on DCTU March… by fergal

on a different matter but related. Anybody au fait with maternity leave and labour law? A friend has just returned to work after maternity leave,back a few weeks. She was called in by her superior on Friday and told that she had been overpaid on maternity and now wolud have to pay back this money. There’s no union in her workplace. I’ll be contacting my own union tomorrow to see what’s possible . Initially she was told that she would have to give 45 per cent of her wages a month,this was then revised down to 30 per cent a month. She’s an immigrant and is afraid that if she kicks up she’ll get the door. She’s employed by one of the sexier(sexist?)multinationals.
1 Does she have to pay this money back(she made no mistake?)
2 Can she not pay 1 or 2 per cent for a longer period of time
3 what are her legal rights here?
Many thanks