Five-job civil servant tells court he 'wasn't thinking straight'
A UK civil servant accused of holding five government jobs at once told a jury he did not want some of the roles and was focused on caring for his mother.
At a glance
- A civil servant told a jury he 'wasn't thinking straight' while holding multiple UK government jobs.
- In spring 2023 he worked for Defra, the UKHSA, the FSA, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office.
- Prosecutors say he was contracted for 183 hours a week and was paid £11,000 for one month's work in 2023.
A civil servant accused of holding five UK government jobs at the same time told a court he "wasn't thinking straight", saying he had not wanted some of the roles and that his priority was caring for his mother.
In the spring of 2023, he was employed by Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office, the jury was told.
Prosecutors said he was contracted to work 183 hours a week over that period — more than the 168 hours that exist in seven days. Each job paid a full-time wage, and he was paid £11,000 for a single month's work in 2023.
Prosecution case
The prosecution alleges that he "exploited" the work-from-home culture that began during the Covid-19 pandemic to hide his multiple jobs, and took sick leave from some employers to manage the workload.
Prosecutors say he kept the overlapping roles secret because he worked entirely remotely, having told his employers he was the sole carer for his elderly mother. They allege he "exploited this opportunity".
Defence account
He told the court he had not wanted the jobs at the DHSC, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office.
"I sent out a flurry of these applications. The offers for these jobs came all at once. I had discussions with my line managers saying that I did not want these jobs and explained my circumstances," he told the jury. "These were all short term and probationary and my priority was to look after my mother."
He said that around May and June 2022 his mother's health "deteriorated". "That overwhelmed me at the time. It just destroyed me," he said.
The defendant described the jobs as his "lifeline at the time". "They gave me a link to the outside world and were a distraction from what was going on in my personal life, looking after my mum at that time," he said.
Source: BBC Business.
Questions and answers
- How many jobs did the civil servant have?
- The jury was told he was employed in spring 2023 by Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office — five roles in total.
- How many hours a week was he contracted to work?
- The jury was told he was contracted to work 183 hours a week during that period, more than the 168 hours that exist in seven days, with each job paying a full-time wage.
- What did he tell the court?
- He said he had not wanted jobs at the DHSC, Department for Business and Trade and Home Office, that the offers came all at once, and that his priority was looking after his mother, whose health deteriorated around May and June 2022.
