Over paid holiday pay, please advise

My colleague started working for the company 12 months ago. She was taken on for 15hrs per week, but not given a contract or anything to sign, in August last year she was moved upto 30hrs per week to replace a person leaving, in October she was asked to sign a contract for 15hrs per week, she signed the contract under pressure as she needed the job.Just before christmas she was informed she would be getting a 30hr contract after the christmas break, she returned to work today to be informed she has been overpaid in her holiday pay, they paid her 30hrs per week holidays and saying cause shes only contracted for 15hrs she owes them the money back. A total of £275.04pThey have said that even though she worked the majority of the year 30hrs she is not entitled to 30hrs holiday, even though it was their mistake, they have said that she has to work unpaid for 5hrs per week to pay this back.She is a single person with rent, bills and credit cards to pay for like everyone else, and cannot afford to miss that many hours paid, she can however if required afford to pay back a set amount of say £5-£10 per week.My main question is, can they legally recover the funds from her wages wthout her consent, in writing or otherwise.And secondly, if she is to pay the amount back, if she offers a lower amount do they have to legally acept it if she can prove she cannot afford to pay more back.
      Answer1:The only thing i can add is that ive worked at placed and theyve taken money out my payslip for things such a £5 for a poxy cheap badge. I didnt tell them it was ok or n e thing. Thats pretty crap tho. She should look for somewhere else.
      Answer2:They can ask for the money back. If they dont get it, they will threaten to hire a solicitor to recover the money and will say that you will incur the cost of the solicitor also.They cannot take the money from her bank account, but possibly may be able to dock future wages without consent.They should be able to offer a monthly repayment scheme, but at the end of the day..... it gets dark.
      Answer3:Most workers - whether part-time or full-time - are legally entitled to 4.8 weeks paid annual leave. Additional annual leave may be agreed as part of a workers contract. A weeks leave should allow workers to be away from work for a week – ie it should be the same amount of time as the working week.Your employer must include details of your holidays and holiday pay entitlement in: * your written contract, if you have one* a written statement about your job that they must give you when you start workThe company is already in breach of employment law by not giving her a contract when she started. The contracted hours have no bearing on holiday entitlement she is entitled to holiday pay based on the normal hours worked. If she receives a fixed wage each week then that is how much she should receive for each week that she is off, if hours or wage varies then holiday pay should be calculated based on the average pay received over the preceding 12 week period. Your colleague should speak with her supervisor and if they still say they are going to take the money back she will need to file a formal written complaint to the company and officially object to any money being taken from her wages. I would suggest before this goes further she get professional advice on how to proceed from ACAS on 08457 47 47 47 it is free and confidential (apart from the cost of the phone call)