A worker who juggled four jobs at councils in the west of England has been found guilty of fraud at Gloucester Crown Court.
Bryn Howells was found guilty of committing fraud against Tewkesbury Borough Council, South Gloucestershire Council, and Publica Group, a company providing services for Cotswold, West Oxfordshire and Forest of Dean district councils.
Between February 2022 and June 2023, Howells was simultaneously employed as strategic housing and enabling officer for Tewkesbury, senior development surveyor at South Gloucestershire, and valuer and estates surveyor at Publica.
Howells failed to disclose his employments to each organisation when taking on new roles. He submitted false timesheets, misrepresenting the hours worked for each employer, and provided inaccurate information on declaration forms regarding secondary employment.
Secondary employment
Number of police working second jobs doubles
Through these actions, he received salaries and other benefits totalling around £236,000.
Howells also held a fourth role with another council through an agency during this period, earning further income, but this employment was not included in the prosecution’s case.
The fraud was uncovered through a review of payroll data by Tewkesbury council’s Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit (CFEU), as part of the government’s National Fraud Initiative (NFI).
At the time his actions were identified, Howells was still employed by Tewkesbury and Publica, but had recently resigned from South Gloucestershire.
A disciplinary investigation was launched alongside a criminal investigation by the CFEU. Howells was suspended by the employers and resigned before disciplinary hearings could take place. The hearings proceeded in his absence and resulted in dismissal for gross misconduct.
Howells told the court he did not set out to deceive or act with dishonest intent. He said he was not motivated by greed or money, but a strong desire to “work as many hours as possible” to support local authorities when skilled staff were in short supply.
Howells said his failure to declare his employment to each council was an “unintentional oversight”, and the hours declared on his timesheets were in his mind hours that he was “available”.
The councils’ barrister put to Howells that his actions were nothing short of dishonest. Had he declared his employment to each council, or disclosed that he planned to retain employment elsewhere, he would not have been employed by them.
Tewkesbury Borough Council executive director of resources Simon Dix said: “We are deeply disappointed by Mr Howells’ actions, which fell far short of the standards expected of public servants. As soon as concerns were raised, we acted swiftly, and the matter was investigated by the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit.
“By receiving four publicly funded salaries and benefits, Mr Howells’ conduct was wholly dishonest and represents a serious breach of trust and misuse of public funds.
“Although Mr Howells is no longer employed by the council, we recognise the importance of maintaining public trust. We have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and take matters of integrity extremely seriously. We have reviewed our internal procedures to help prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Howells is scheduled to be sentenced on 28 August, and the councils are looking to recover salary, pension and national insurance contributions from him earned through his dishonesty.
“Polygamous working” is thought to be on the rise as remote working makes it easier for people to hold down multiple jobs without their employers’ knowledge.
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