'Low pay and boredom led me to get a secret second job'
The government and local councils are clamping down on public sector employees who secretly work two or more full-time jobs at the same time. This trend, often called "polygamous working," has become more common with the rise of remote working. While having more than one job is not always illegal, doing so in secret often breaks employment contracts and, in some cases, can lead to criminal charges for fraud.
A recent anti-fraud campaign by the Cabinet Office has caught over 300 workers who were "cheating the system," recovering more than £1.35 million in wrongly paid salaries. In one high-profile case, a council employee was found guilty of fraud after working two full-time roles at two different London councils at once. Another social worker was caught working for three separate councils simultaneously.
While some people argue that low pay in the public sector drives staff to take on extra work, officials say this behaviour is an abuse of taxpayer money. They worry that secret second jobs lead to poor performance, data security risks, and a lack of focus on vital services like social care. To catch these workers, the National Fraud Initiative is now using advanced data-matching to compare payroll and pension records across different government departments and councils.
Critics from opposition parties have accused the government of overseeing a "bloated system" and failing to monitor staff properly. In response, ministers have increased the use of the "Fraud Hub," a database that lists employees fired for misconduct to stop them from simply getting another government job elsewhere. Officials warn that while working from home might make it easier to hide a second job, they are becoming much better at spotting the inconsistencies that give these secret workers away.
