Solicitor secretly held 3 jobs during pandemic, lied to employer, struck off and fined £8,891.50.
A property solicitor who secretly held three jobs at once during the pandemic has been struck off and fined nearly £9,000 after a tribunal found she acted dishonestly and misled her employer.
Belinda Sarkodie, while employed by law firm Muve (trading as Connect 2 Law), claimed she was working solely for them. In reality, she had taken on two additional remote roles without informing her main employer, violating clear professional and contractual obligations.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Sarkodie capitalised on the booming conveyancing market during the Covid-19 pandemic, using the remote work environment to hide her multiple roles. The tribunal document, released on 30 May, stated that she pursued personal financial gain by working these jobs simultaneously, breaching her employer’s trust.
Clients’ complaints and concerns from employers about her limited availability triggered the investigation. Employers reported that she was frequently difficult to contact while working remotely, raising suspicions about her work patterns.
During the hearing, Sarkodie defended her actions by claiming she worked up to 100 hours a week from home and managed to meet all job requirements across her three roles. However, the tribunal rejected her explanation, ruling that she acted dishonestly by submitting inaccurate timesheets to conceal her triple workload.
The tribunal ultimately struck her off the roll of solicitors and ordered her to pay £8,891.50 in costs to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Embed from Getty ImagesEmployment law experts weighed in on the growing problem of employees secretly working multiple jobs. Matt Jenkin, employment partner at Herrington Carmichael, warned that moonlighting employees may breach the Working Time Regulations, as all employment hours count towards total working time.
“Employees working multiple jobs can create significant problems for employers,” Jenkin stated. He advised that employment contracts should include clear clauses either banning secondary employment entirely or requiring written consent from the employer before taking on additional work.
Jim Moore, an employee relations expert at Hamilton Nash, stressed the importance of addressing moonlighting during the hiring process. He advised employers to ask direct questions about potential conflicts of interest and remind new hires of their obligations to avoid conflicts.
Detecting moonlighting can be difficult, but certain warning signs may alert employers. Jenkin listed indicators such as social media posts revealing other work, recurring absences, arriving late or leaving early, frequent sick leave, and declining job performance marked by missed deadlines and repeated mistakes.
Moore noted that the disciplinary consequences should depend on the severity of the offence. Minor work outside of regular hours might warrant a warning, but drawing salaries from multiple employers simultaneously, especially when there’s a conflict of interest, would likely amount to gross misconduct.
The case of Belinda Sarkodie serves as a stark example of the risks and consequences involved. Her dishonesty not only cost her career but also highlighted the challenges employers face in detecting remote working abuses in an era of increasing flexibility.
As remote work continues to blur traditional boundaries, employers are under mounting pressure to tighten oversight, update policies, and ensure that staff commitments remain transparent and compliant. Sarkodie’s case sends a clear message: concealment and dishonesty in employment carry severe professional and financial penalties.
