£1.3 million in salary payments recovered after government identifies hundreds of ‘polygamous workers’

More than £1.3 million in salary payments has been recovered over the past decade after the government identified hundreds of cases of public sector staff working multiple jobs.

A trial recently conducted by the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) highlighted several instances of so-called "polygamous working" across London.

The initiative uncovered around £400,000 in wage overpayments and generated an estimated £489,000 in total savings, alongside 22 dismissals or resignations.

The disclosures come as civil servant Kashim Chowdhury was convicted of nine counts of fraud, having exploited remote working and sick notes to juggle up to five full-time government roles at the same time.

A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions said that in the last decade the NFI has “identified 301 cases of public sector employees with undisclosed multiple employment arrangements and recovered £1.35 million in salary payments back to the public purse”.

“The NFI continues to act as a key tool in protecting the taxpayer’s hard-earned cash, with a recent pilot across local boroughs making almost £490,000 of savings,” it added.

Polygamous working is the practice of holding multiple jobs or roles without their employer’s knowledge or consent.

The NFI work has identified hundreds of public sector employees with undisclosed multiple employment arrangements since 2016.

In a report, it said said polygamous working was “highlighted as an emerging risk area following changes to working practices since Covid-19”.

This is due to many organisations allowing staff to work remotely or on a hybrid basis as normal operating procedures, it said.

Chowdhury, 55, lied about his employment status to get a string of overlapping roles across government departments and public bodies, Southwark Crown Court heard previously.

Between February 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury, from Whitechapel, east London, earned almost £350,000 from eight employers, the court heard.

This includes more than £280,000 in gross pay from employers for months when he had more than one full-time job, jurors were told.

Prosecutors said Chowdhury “exploited” the work-from-home culture which began during the Covid-19 pandemic to hide his multiple jobs and took sick leave from some employers to manage the workload.

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

On Monday, jurors found Chowdhury guilty of nine counts of fraud after deliberating for about seven hours.