Mistakes in payroll happen. And a case in Oklahoma shows just how big those mistakes can be.

Jo Harris is an employee with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. She was supposed to get a longevity pay bonus of $850.

However, when the paycheck was cut, it was for $850,000.

The state realized its mistake and asked Harris to cut them a personal check for 850 Gs if the amount hit her account.

But that wasn’t necessary. The state cancelled the check before it was deposited and reissued her one with the proper amount.

Harris says co-workers tease her about the bonus mistake, according to the newspaper, The Oklahoman.

“They want to know if they can slip out of the country with me,” Harris said. “I tell them, ‘Yeah, me and my cocker spaniel, Brandon, could go on a nice cruise with that money.’”

Take, for example, a proposal by Imperial College Healthcare Trust in London, England. It wants to give cash bonuses to surgeons for saving lives.

Britain’s largest hospital trust also proposes cash rewards for every time a patient leaves a hospital without picking up an infection, and other rewards would be given for cost-effectiveness.

The Trust is looking into a pilot program which would start with just one operation performed by a particular surgical team.

The Patients Association is concerned the bonus program would discourage operations on higher risk populations such as the elderly. It also says doctors have a duty to provide the best treatment for patients without receiving cash incentives on top of their salaries.

The British Medical Association calls the plan “too simplistic.”

The pilot program might start later this year.

Does this take bonus programs too far? Tell us what you think.

The train line has been losing about $4.9 million a year.

Enter Tama, a nine-year-old female tabby cat.

Tama is now the station chief at the otherwise unstaffed stop, according to wire reports.

Tama sits at the entrance to the station wearing a black uniform cap and poses for photos for tourists who are now flocking in droves. The tabby lets passengers pet her all day long.

Visitors can buy souvenirs, too: postcards, notebooks, pins and a photo book, “Diary of Tama, the Station Master” for $13.

Recently, ridership is up 10%.

Just in case the numbers are up because of the station cat, Tama just got a bonus – payable in cat food.

We’re talking about James McPike, the boot boy (an apprentice player) for British soccer star Oliver Kapo.

For a year of service, McPike hoped for a pair of old boots. Instead he got a new Mercedes worth $60,000 from Kapo, The Daily Mail reported.

Kapo is also paying the insurance on the car for a year.

Good thing most employers don’t have to compete with those types of bonuses for employees.

No wonder the team manager asked Kapo if he had any plans for the house he still owns in Turin. According to the article Kapo “only smiled” when asked.