Civil servants found to be faking office attendance for YEARS at a time

RSS Aggregator

May 6, 2026 - 07:43

Civil servants found to be faking office attendance for YEARS at a time

Civil servants have been found to be faking office attendance for years at a time despite official rules requiring them to be in office for at least three days a week.

Whistleblowers report management having "no control" over remote staff who push the boundaries of flexible working policy, with one individual describing the Whitehall offices as "like the Mary Celeste" at the end of the week

Civil servants are also reported to be connecting to their office Wi-Fi from the comfort of their own car, to prove they are in the office, only to return home.

The behaviour has become so popular among those who work for HMRC that management has called the phenomenon the "drive-by login", the Telegraph reports.

There are now calls for the Government to trigger an "immediate" inquiry into the civil service and their working from home habits.

Criticism has largely focused on how mandarins are being rewarded for working at reduced capacity "with full-time pay".

Staff have also been reported to show up at the office for a few hours of the working day before heading home.

A whistleblower said it was not unusual for "a lot of people to be in for a couple of hours and disappear".