A civil servant accused of working five full-time jobs at the same time has told a court he met the demands of each role, despite being contracted for more hours than exist in a week.
Kashim Chowdhury, 55, was at one stage contracted to work 183 hours a week, even though there are only 168 hours in seven days. He faces nine counts of fraud and held eight overlapping public sector jobs between 2020 and 2023.
Overlapping roles and fraud allegations
In March 2023, Chowdhury began working for the Home Office while also holding full-time jobs with the UK Health Security Agency, Defra, an east London NHS foundation trust, and the Department for Business and Trade.
He was contractually obliged to work full time and received a full-time salary from each organisation. He is accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000. The court heard he started the Home Office job while on sick leave from three of his other roles.
Defence and prosecution arguments
Appearing at Southwark Crown Court, Chowdhury said he had special arrangements with his managers that allowed him to complete tasks rather than work his contracted hours. Lucy Organ, prosecuting, told him: “You were contracted to work for 183 hours a week. It is more hours than exist in a week. It was impossible to work the number of hours you were contracted.” He replied: “Yes, it is impossible.”
He told the jury he had agreements with his employers to work flexibly, allowing him to complete projects during evenings and weekends. He said this was agreed informally via text messages, but the phones used to send them had gone missing when his house was searched by investigators.
Ms Organ countered that his arrangements were made because he was the sole carer for his elderly mother, not because his managers knew about his other jobs. She also challenged him over starting a Home Office job while on sick leave from Defra, asking: “If you were really unfit for work, how were you able to start your job at the Home Office?”
Court testimony and trial continues
Chowdhury said he had arrangements in place and had told managers he did not want the Home Office job, but that working helped him cope with deteriorating mental health. He denied using annual leave and sick leave to manage the concurrent jobs, attributing severe anxiety and trauma to insecure employment and his mother’s health.
Aleesha Adams, his line manager at the UKHSA, previously told the court she was surprised he appeared to be wearing white make-up during a video call in May 2023 to discuss his sick leave. She said the make-up started coming off his forehead as the meeting went on: “He was sweating, it was like rubbing off so it was darker underneath and darker on the neck.”
Chowdhury denied the allegation, saying: “That's a smear, I've never worn make-up in my life. At that particular time, I was suffering from anxiety and depression. I had already submitted my sick note, there was no need to put on make-up.” He denies all charges, and the trial continues.
