HUNDREDS of DVLA staff did no work on full pay while managers boasted of watching TV in bed.
Workers said they felt demoralised as colleagues claimed to be too vulnerable to go into the office but went out socialising and on holiday without working instead.
Some 3,400 of the 6,200 DVLA staff were at home not having to work while on paid special leave.
Almost 2,000 were still on paid special leave months later. More than 500 staff were not working in nine of the past 24 months.
And an undercover Times investigation last month found managers boast of spending days in bed watching TV.
Millions of drivers have been hit by record backlogs in renewing their licences or applying for one.
DVLA staff have not been allowed remote access to systems that hold drivers’ personal data, meaning meaning many have not been able to work properly or at all.
Some motorists who depend on cars for work have been unable to drive for more than a year because of backlogs.
It includes lorry drivers who have been prevented from helping to deliver food and petrol.
The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents DVLA staff, said offices have not been Covid-secure.
Last year staff went on strike for 58 days over almost six months.
And DVLA CEO Julie Lennard earned £185,000 last year, including a £10,000 bonus.
