Polygamous working: holding two or more full-time jobs at once

Polygamous working — the practice of holding two or more full-time jobs simultaneously without employers knowing — has emerged as a post-pandemic phenomenon. It is often imagined as a Zoom meeting window with video disabled. The term is distinct from moonlighting, which is usually a secondary job taken to make ends meet, and from a side hustle or hobby.

Hybrid and remote working arrangements have made it easier for people to keep multiple full-time roles undetected. Employment contracts may require staff to declare other work, prohibit additional jobs, or impose confidentiality rules that make holding another role impossible. Although there is no blanket ban on having two jobs, the behaviour can be treated as fraud in some circumstances.

Last month a woman was convicted of fraud after holding full-time posts at Barnet council and Croydon council, and in July a man was found guilty of fraud after it was discovered he had four jobs. The National Fraud Initiative has begun cross-referencing payroll and pension data to target public-sector cases and uncovered 13 instances in the last financial year.

How widespread polygamous working is remains hard to gauge: official checks have turned up dozens of cases, while online communities such as Reddit’s r/overemployed share tips on sustaining multiple roles without detection.

Key Topics

Business, Polygamous Working, Barnet Council, Croydon Council, National Fraud Initiative, R/overemployed