'I was pursued for fraud for having two council jobs at once'

"I was interviewed [by the council]... on the basis that I'd defrauded them and misrepresented myself. And for reasons they haven't fully explained, they didn't pursue it. Another role came along and I thought, if I can do the job for both of them and I can live with myself in terms of the quality and quantity of the work I'm doing, I was quite comfortable doing it."

"I think technology is the main reason it's possible. I don't have to be in the office, in one central place of work - I can see lots of things digitally. But it requires hard work and sacrifice. My contracts were terminated and I paid the price."

"The Cabinet Office told BBC London that since 2016 its national anti-fraud initiative had caught out 301 employees in the public sector and recovered 1.35m in salary payments. In a recent case, a council worker was convicted of fraud for having two full-time jobs at two London councils."

Remote working has facilitated an increase in "polygamous working," where employees hold multiple full-time jobs secretly. Paul worked two full-time council positions for eighteen months before his cursor movements were monitored and his contract was terminated. The Cabinet Office's anti-fraud initiative has identified 301 public sector employees engaged in this practice since 2016, recovering £1.35 million in fraudulent salary payments. While Paul believed he could maintain quality work across both roles, his employment contracts were ultimately terminated. Technology enables this practice by allowing employees to work from home without physical office presence, though it requires significant effort and sacrifice to manage multiple positions simultaneously.

Read at www.bbc.com