Former council staff member who juggled four roles at different councils at same time found guilty of fraud
A former council employee who was simultaneously employed in four different positions by multiple local authorities has been found guilty of fraud.
- Details
Bryn Howells of Ebley, Stroud, was employed by Tewkesbury Borough Council, South Gloucestershire Council and Publica Group at the same time, receiving salaries and other benefits totalling approximately £236,000.
Publica Group is a 'teckal' company providing services on behalf of Cotswold District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, and Forest of Dean District Council.
Howells was Strategic Housing and Enabling Officer at Tewkesbury, Senior Development Surveyor at South Gloucestershire and a Valuer and Estates Surveyor at Publica Group.
He failed to disclose his multiple employments to each organisation when taking up the positions and submitted false timesheets, misrepresenting the hours worked for each employer, Tewkesbury said.
It also claimed he provided inaccurate information on declaration forms regarding secondary employment.
In addition, Howells held a fourth role with another council via an agency during this period, earning further income. However, this employment was not included in the prosecution case.
The fraud was uncovered through a review of payroll data by the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit (CFEU), as part of the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative (NFI).
At the time, the data match was identified, Howells was still employed by Tewkesbury Borough Council and Publica Group, having recently resigned from South Gloucestershire Council.
A disciplinary investigation was launched alongside a criminal investigation by the CFEU, which is a shared service between Cheltenham Borough, Cotswold District, Forest of Dean District, Stroud District, Tewkesbury Borough and West Oxfordshire District.
Howells was suspended by both remaining employers and later resigned before disciplinary hearings could take place. These hearings proceeded in his absence and resulted in dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct.
Tewskesbury reported that 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.
He claimed that any 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 council said.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Executive Director of Resources, Simon Dix, said: “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 due to be sentenced on 28 August 2025.
The councils are looking to recover salary, pension contributions and national insurance contributions from Howells earned as a result of his dishonesty.
Adam Carey
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