According to Freedom of Information responses and other public records, nine councils have identified at least 37 cases of so-called “polygamous working” since the pandemic.
Prosecutions for fraud regarding polygamous working in at least three councils have been brought, with one known conviction already secured. Several local authorities have blamed the working from home culture.
York Council has blamed WFH for fraudulent ‘polygamous’ working (Photo: Getty)The report warned this could lead to the “wrong people occupying positions of trust and responsibility”.
Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “With councils admitting that remote working rules have opened the door to abuse, taxpayers will be rightly furious that some staff appear to be cashing in on a culture of weak oversight.
Conservative shadow minister for education Neil O’Brien said the revelations raised questions about public sector waste.
“If people are able to do the job in about a third of their time that raises so many questions about whether there is any serious attempt to improve value for taxpayers money going on.”
One staff member at Barnsley Council was prosecuted for being simultaneously employed on two 37-hour-per-week contracts during a period of 10 months.
In data released under a Freedom of Information request, Barnet Council disclosed that 18 cases related to polygamous working have been investigated in the last three years, with three agency staff being prosecuted and several being dismissed.
The latest report by the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), operated out of the Cabinet Office to detect fraud in the private and public sectors, identified 23 cases of polygamous working in a recent pilot of London boroughs and discovered half a million pounds of overpaid salaries over a period of a few months.
Influencers on TikTok have been giving advice on polygamous working (Photo: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)Social Work News reported that the worker was dismissed from both jobs and told a fitness to practice hearing that “I was working two jobs. However, it must be noted that in Hampshire I was only in my second week and doing training/induction.”
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Read MoreCroydon Council, which dismissed one worker for polygamous working, warned in a public council agenda that hybrid working allowed for “unscrupulous activities to go unnoticed”.
Chris Keesing, chair of the London Boroughs’ Fraud Investigators’ Group, which worked with the NFI, said: “It’s really important to protect the public purse. People who are committing this abuse are taking money away from people in the community who really need it.
A Government spokesperson said: “This Government is cracking down on fraud wherever we find it. Our expert counter fraud teams are working with public bodies across the country to help detect and prosecute people for fraudulently holding more than one job.”
Haringey Council did not respond to a request for comment. A Barnsley council spokesperson said: “As a local authority we take any fraudulent behaviour incredibly seriously and responded robustly.”
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