More than 300 public sector workers caught with multiple jobs after London civil servant held five roles

Résumé détaillé

At least 301 state employees have been discovered engaging in ‘polygamous working’ since 2016, according to the Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative

More than 300 public sector workers have been caught secretly working multiple jobs - after a London-based civil servant was convicted of fraud for holding down five full-time roles at the same time.

At least 301 state employees have been discovered engaging in "polygamous working" since 2016, according to the Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative.

Some £1.35 million in fraudulent salary payments was recovered over the ten-year period from staff working across different government departments.

It comes after Kashim Chowdhury was on Monday convicted of nine counts of fraud for holding multiple civil service jobs at the same time, taking holidays and sick days to manage his workload.

Southwark Crown Court heard that he exploited the shift to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic to conceal his multiple jobs, using sick notes to help manage his commitments.

In one incident described by prosecutor Lucy Organ as “laughable”, Chowdhury allegedly wore white make-up during a video call with his boss, seemingly to appear ill.

Between February 2020 and September 2023, he earned almost £350,000 from eight employers, including more than £280,000 in gross pay for months when he held more than one full-time job, jurors were told.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it will seek to recover Chowdhury's fraudulent earnings through a proceeds of crime hearing.

The National Fraud Initiative said it was working to identify more employees abusing the system after discovering 13 cases of polygamous working in the 2024 to 2025 financial year.

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