A Bristol City Council officer on long-term sick pay started work elsewhere before they had quit their job, an investigation found. The scam, which was stopped before the employee received their next wages from taxpayers’ money, was exposed by a colleague using the local authority’s whistleblowing process, a council meeting was told.

City Hall bosses considered pressing charges but decided not to because it was nipped in the bud so early, audit committee members heard. In another case, an officer working in the cemetery and crematorium service was accused of theft and misuse of council property.

While the allegation could not be proven, it identified “significant weaknesses in stock control” and changes have been made by authority chiefs. The alleged cons were highlighted in the council’s annual counter-fraud report alongside nine other whistleblowing cases that reached a conclusion between April 2021 and March this year, while 12 new ones were raised by staff against colleagues they suspected of wrongdoing.

Louise Lee, audit manager in the counter fraud and investigations team, told the meeting: “Whistleblowing referrals have increased compared with last year and we hope that’s a sign of increased confidence and awareness. Some referrals are made anonymously, some are not evidenced in any way, so it can be quite difficult to investigate it to a sufficient level to prove the wrongdoing.

“They are always objectively and thoroughly investigated and often lead to reports...

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