Council worker sacked for second job within NHS

A GREEDY Birmingham City Council employee was sacked after investigators discovered they were working a second full-time job in the NHS.

And now the authority is seeking to recover £16,000 paid in wages to the cheeky staff member, who had been working from home during the con.

At one point they claimed to be sick to one of their employers – while continuing to work for the other. The astonishing case has been highlighted in a report by the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), set up to combat fraudulent claims on the public purse.

It is understood the council worker has been identified by payroll data as they were liable to pay tax on the TWO full-time roles.

A report by the NFI said: “A payroll match identified an employee who had joined Birmingham City Council but also held a casual role as bank staff at a local NHS Trust. The match highlighted that the salary for the casual role was higher than expected.

“Initial enquiries established that the employee was working full-time for both organisations. An investigation found that both roles were being undertaken whilst working at home, allowing the fraudulent claims to be made.

“It also identified a period where the individual had worked for one organisation whilst claiming to be unfit for work at the other.

“The employee was dismissed from both organisations. Recovery of the salary paid by the council, in excess of £16,500, is being pursued.”

Birmingham City Council has refused to comment.

The NFI, based in the Cabinet Office, is said to have detected and recovered £443 million of fraud and errors across the UK from April 2020 to March 2022.