A senior civil servant with security vetting was allegedly paid for three full-time jobs by different Government departments – at the same time. The mandarin who, it is understood, was able to work from home, is said to have duped his bosses to secure the taxpayer-funded roles. He then worked at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and at least one other department, on two occasions.
Three jobs? And no-one noticed? This will be another nail in the coffin for WFH won't it?
This was despite him going through the Government's vetting procedures, designed to ensure rogue agents do not make it into Whitehall. An internal audit in 2022-23 discovered the worker had withheld his employment history when applying for the roles.
That's all it takes to evade vetting procedures?
The civil servant no longer works for the Government and has been charged with one count of fraud. He has not indicated a plea.
Why only one? Why not two?
The NFI report looked into remote working practices following the pandemic. It found there was 'even more opportunity for individuals to commit fraud by gaining employment with several local authorities at the same time but failing to fulfil all of the roles'.
Yup, the only reason this is making headlines is to have another pop at WFH, mark my words.
When I was vetted in the 1970s for a government job, they unearthed a lot of small details about me that I had completely forgotten about. It was like reading an extremely detailed biography. There is no way that if he had been properly checked he could have got away with any level of fraud. Time for a new set of security men.
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