Work from Home Council Employee Had Second Job
Was being paid for undeclared employment at Ministry of Justice
A request was granted for the employee to work from home for personal reasons
November 25, 2025
A Hammersmith & Fulham council employee secretly working a second job for the Government resigned after apparently catching wind of a fraud investigation into their deceit.
A fraud report revealed that the individual, who has not been identified, was investigated after being linked to a job at the Ministry of Justice, Prison and Probation Service. Before this could be concluded the employee resigned, “returned all LBHF equipment, and suggested awareness of our investigation”, the report notes.
The case is one of several detailed in the council’s latest Corporate Anti-Fraud Service (CAFS) Half-Year Progress Report, covering the period between April 1 and September 30, 2025. The CAFS tackles not just fraud but also bribery and corruption against Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has covered previous findings by the service, from an employee caught doing private work after their council-branded van was spotted in Ealing to a staff member using their mother’s Blue Badge to avoid parking fees.
The latest report, which is to be presented to the council’s Audit Committee on 1 December, details how in the period concerned, 79 ‘positive results’ were achieved. The work prevented fraud worth an estimated £779,530 with a further £409,000 “identified for recovery via court-issued confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act”.
The most common activity recorded was ‘high/medium risk fraud’, such as in parking and social care. This was followed by ‘low-risk fraud’ and cases of tenancy fraud, with 14 properties recovered and made available for those in need of housing support.
A number of corporate investigations are also listed, one of which relates to dual working. According to the report, taking a second job is not a breach of the Code of Conduct but it must be declared to the employee’s line manager. It can result in fraud, however, when someone splits their time between two roles while receiving full-time pay for each one.
Regarding the instance in which the employee was linked to a role at the Government, the report states, “CAFS initially contacted the individual’s line manager. The employee had not declared secondary employment, but it transpired that the subject requested to work from home for three months due to personal reasons. At the time, it seemed a reasonable request, and it was approved. The CAFS investigation revealed that the request timing aligned with the dates of employment with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
“CAFS contacted MoJ for further information, who in turn referred the matter to the employing department, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. Shortly after this contact with MoJ, the employee resigned, returned all LBHF equipment, and suggested awareness of our investigation.”
Two other investigations into corporate fraud are also listed, one in which a Blue Badge is suspected of being misused and another where parents applied for a school placement in the borough despite paying council tax in Chelmsford, Essex.
In August the LDRS spoke with Cllr Rowan Ree, Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, about the local authority’s use of AI and data to tackle issues such as fraud. This followed an opinion piece Cllr Ree had contributed to the Municipal Journal the month before in which he wrote about the particular challenge of identifying tenancy fraud.
“Since the start of April, we have recovered a two-bedroom property due to subletting, another due to a false application, and two properties due to fraudulent succession applications,” he wrote. “Returning these properties to local families in need on our waiting list is a huge win as we will spend less on pricey temporary accommodation.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter