In Britain, a civil servant secretly held five jobs with overlapping schedules. He is now facing prison.
Since 2020, Kashim Chowdhury has held eight government jobs, often involving a combination of incompatible positions. At its peak, in 2023, he was simultaneously working five full-time jobs.
Chowdhury was then employed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office.
At this point, according to documents, he worked 183 hours a week (168 hours a week) and in total earned several hundred thousand pounds.
But how did Choudhury manage to do this?
To accommodate his overlapping schedules, he obtained permission to work from home, citing the need to care for his mother.
During conversations, he turned off the camera, claiming technical problems, and when it was really difficult, he took a sick leave that could last up to three months. So, in March 2023, he was on sick leave in four organizations, while continuing to work in the fifth.
How was Choudhury exposed?
When he was on sick leave again, his supervisor at the UK Safety and Security Agency (ironic!) called him. According to the plan, they were supposed to discuss when Choudhury could return to work, but something strange happened during the conversation.
To look the part, Choudhury coughed and blew his nose a lot, and also put white make-up on his face to look sicker. At some point, the makeup began to slip due to sweat, which Adams noticed. Additionally, Choudhury accidentally joined the meeting from an email account registered to another office.
As a result, he was arrested in July 2023, fired in September, and now the jury, after seven hours of deliberation, has found him guilty on nine counts.