Civil servants in the UK can have side hustles and second jobs, but the rules are stricter than they are for most private-sector employees.
The key point is not that outside work is banned. It is that civil servants are expected to declare remunerated outside employment, work and appointments, and activities that could affect their Civil Service duties directly or indirectly require approval. Conflicts can be actual, potential or perceived, so an activity does not have to cause a proven problem before it becomes relevant.
For this 2026 update, the Top Business Blog team reviewed current Cabinet Office guidance, the Civil Service Code, HMRC rules, Working Time Regulations guidance, Business Appointment Rules and commentary from UK tax and entrepreneurship specialists. We also reviewed the questions civil servants themselves are asking about tutoring, retail work, online businesses, content creation and second jobs.
The conclusion is straightforward: a civil servant can build legitimate extra income, but the safest side hustle is one that is clearly separated from their official responsibilities, properly declared, tax-compliant and manageable alongside their working hours.
Readers comparing different income ideas can also see our complete guide to UK side hustles in 2026 for the broader picture on ideas, earnings and taxation.
Can Civil Servants Have a Side Hustle?
Yes. There is no blanket Civil Service rule saying that every employee is prohibited from earning money outside their government salary.
However, Cabinet Office guidance says that all remunerated outside employment, work and appointments should be declared, even where the civil servant does not initially believe the activity is relevant to their government role.
Where the outside work might affect their Civil Service work directly or indirectly, line-manager approval should be obtained.
This distinction matters.
| Situation | Practical position |
| Paid second job | Declare it under departmental procedures |
| Self-employed side business | Declare it |
| Freelance or consultancy work | Declare it and expect closer conflict checks |
| Outside work connected with official duties | Approval likely to be required and scrutiny will be higher |
| Work for an organisation the department regulates, funds or contracts with | High conflict risk |
| Passive investment income | Normally treated differently from outside employment |
| Ordinary sale of personal possessions | Usually not an employment or trading activity |
| Paid content creation or influencing | Declare it if it constitutes remunerated outside work |
| Unpaid activity creating an advantage for a third party | May still need declaring |
Departmental procedures matter because individual government departments and agencies implement the central rules through their own staff handbooks, declarations and HR processes. A civil servant should therefore check the relevant intranet policy rather than relying solely on what a colleague in another department was allowed to do.
What Does the Civil Service Management Code Actually Require?
Section 4.3 of the Civil Service Management Code deals with standards of propriety.
The central rule is that departments and agencies must require staff to seek permission before accepting outside employment that might affect their work directly or indirectly. The management code is the central framework, while individual departments build their own procedures around it.
The separate Civil Service Code also requires civil servants to uphold integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
Of particular importance to side hustlers, civil servants must not misuse their official position or information obtained through official duties to further their own private interests or those of somebody else.
That creates several obvious red lines.
A civil servant should not:
- use confidential or unpublished government information in private consultancy;
- approach contacts obtained through government work to find private clients;
- imply that their private business is endorsed by their department;
- use government laptops, email accounts, databases or other resources to operate the business;
- allow a private client relationship to influence official decisions;
- use privileged procurement, regulatory or policy information commercially.
A useful test is: would an independent person reasonably question whether the outside income could influence, benefit from or interfere with the civil servant’s official position?
If the answer could be yes, the activity needs particularly careful consideration.
Do Civil Servants Need Permission or Just Need to Declare the Side Hustle?
This is one of the biggest gaps in many online explanations.
The Cabinet Office’s current outside-interests guidance says all remunerated outside work should be declared. It then states that where the work might affect the person’s Civil Service role directly or indirectly, line-manager approval should be sought.
Therefore, it is better not to reduce the rule to either “every side hustle is automatically prohibited without permission” or “unrelated side hustles do not need to be mentioned”.
In practice, civil servants should check their department’s own outside-interest procedure and disclose the activity before assuming it is exempt.
Someone working in transport policy who wants to sell handmade ceramics online is in a very different conflict position from someone in the same team who wants to provide paid consultancy to transport businesses.
The first may be comparatively simple to manage. The second could raise substantial concerns around knowledge, contacts, policy information and perceived influence.
Our broader article on whether employees need to tell their employer about a side hustle explains the position for ordinary UK employment. Civil servants have the additional Civil Service framework described here.
Which Side Hustles Are Most Practical for Civil Servants?
No side hustle can be guaranteed approval because the answer depends on the person’s department, grade, responsibilities and potential conflicts.
However, some activities are inherently easier to separate from official work.
1. Private Tutoring
Tutoring can work well because sessions can normally be arranged around evenings and weekends.
Subjects unrelated to the civil servant’s official responsibilities generally create less conflict risk than teaching or advising on a field closely connected with their government work.
Current UK tutoring rates can vary considerably by subject and level. Top Business Blog’s review found commonly advertised rates of around £25 to £65 an hour across primary, GCSE and A-level tutoring, although qualifications, demand and whether a platform takes commission affect the amount retained.
See our detailed guide to starting a UK tutoring side hustle for the commercial side of building a tutoring service.
2. Selling Handmade Products
Etsy shops, craft-market selling, artwork, photography products and other creative businesses may be relatively easy to separate from Civil Service responsibilities.
There is still an important difference between occasionally selling something made as a hobby and deliberately operating a commercial business.
A regular Etsy operation producing items for profit is a side business and should be treated accordingly for declaration and tax purposes.
Our Etsy UK side-hustle guide covers the practical costs, fees and selling requirements.
3. Freelance Creative Work
Graphic design, editing, photography, translation, video editing and similar project work can be viable where the clients and subject matter have no meaningful connection with the civil servant’s department.
The biggest risk is not necessarily the type of service. It is who the client is.
For example, designing a menu for an independent restaurant is very different from carrying out paid communications work for a company seeking a government contract from the civil servant’s department.
4. Dog Walking and Pet Sitting
Local service businesses can be attractive because they require little upfront investment and generally have minimal connection with government policy or procurement.
They can also be easier to contain within specific weekend or evening hours.
Civil servants should still consider insurance, local licensing where relevant, tax records and whether the working hours interfere with their primary job.
5. Reselling
Buying goods specifically to resell for profit can become a genuine trading activity.
That is different from simply clearing unwanted possessions from a wardrobe.
For example, occasionally selling used clothes generally does not constitute a business. Buying stock at car-boot sales specifically to resell on Vinted or eBay is much more likely to constitute trading.
Our analysis of Vinted UK earnings looks more closely at when casual selling starts becoming commercial activity.
6. Writing, Blogging and Digital Products
Writing fiction, producing educational resources, publishing non-government-related websites or creating digital products may be workable.
The risk increases considerably if someone markets themselves using their Civil Service title, comments publicly on policy they work on, reveals official information or builds the commercial product around knowledge available because of their position.
7. Weekend Retail or Hospitality Work
A straightforward second employed job can sometimes be simpler administratively than starting a business because PAYE is handled by the second employer.
The Civil Service declaration rules still apply, and the combined working hours need consideration.
8. Content Creation
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, podcasting and other creator businesses deserve more attention than older Civil Service side-hustle guides give them.
Once sponsorships, affiliate income, subscriptions, advertising or paid partnerships are involved, content creation can become remunerated outside work.
There is an additional reputational consideration because the individual’s public profile may be highly visible.
Civil servants creating content should keep official and private roles clearly separated and obtain departmental guidance before discussing government, policy or matters connected with their official responsibilities.
Which Side Hustles Carry the Highest Conflict Risk?
Rather than describing activities as automatically “allowed” or “banned”, we think a risk-based approach is more useful.
| Side hustle | Typical conflict risk | Main issue |
| Dog walking | Low | Working hours/capacity |
| Unrelated tutoring | Low to moderate | Subject and client relationship |
| Craft selling | Low | Commercial scale and declaration |
| Weekend retail | Low | Hours and departmental disclosure |
| Generic graphic design | Low to moderate | Who the clients are |
| Content creation | Moderate | Public profile and subject matter |
| Paid speaking | Moderate to high | Use of official experience |
| Policy-related writing | High | Official information/impartiality |
| Consultancy in your Civil Service field | High | Direct overlap |
| Working for a departmental supplier | High | Procurement/conflict risk |
| Working for a regulated organisation | High | Regulatory conflict |
| Lobbying or representation involving government | Very high | Influence and impartiality concerns |
Someone responsible for procurement, grants, regulation, commercial negotiations or market-sensitive policy should be particularly cautious.
The Cabinet Office specifically identifies potential conflicts around outside occupations and private interests, while the Business Appointment Rules focus heavily on policy influence, regulatory decisions, official dealings, commercially sensitive information and lobbying.
How Should a Civil Servant Ask for Approval?
The best approach is to make it easy for the manager or HR team to understand exactly what the activity involves.
A disclosure should normally explain the nature of the business or second job, expected hours, who the clients or customers are, whether the work overlaps with the person’s government responsibilities, whether departmental contacts or information will be used and how conflicts will be prevented.
Avoid vague descriptions such as “online business” when the actual activity can be described precisely.
For example:
“I intend to provide two hours of online GCSE mathematics tutoring each Saturday to private students. The work is unrelated to my departmental responsibilities. I will not use Civil Service equipment, information, contacts or working time.”
That allows the department to assess the actual risk.
The declaration may also need to be reconsidered if circumstances change.
Cabinet Office guidance states that individuals should tell their manager about changes that could affect existing permission. Moving to another Civil Service job also matters: staff must tell their new line manager about additional employment and seek approval where required.
Can a Civil Servant Work a Second Employed Job?
Potentially, yes.
Examples might include weekend retail work, hospitality, event staffing or another part-time employed role.
A second employed job is financially different from self-employment.
HMRC’s May 2026 guidance says a person only receives one Personal Allowance across their income sources. A second employer will usually operate a separate tax code. Common codes include BR, D0 and D1 depending on the person’s overall income and circumstances.
For example, BR normally means all pay from that employment is taxed at 20%. D0 and D1 are associated with higher and additional-rate tax.
National Insurance operates differently. For separate employments with different employers, Class 1 National Insurance is normally calculated separately on the pay from each employment.
Anyone deciding between employment and self-employment may find our side hustle vs second job comparison useful.
Does the 48-Hour Working Week Apply?
This is another important omission from many side-hustle articles.
For workers with more than one job, GOV.UK says combined working hours should generally not exceed an average of 48 hours per week, normally measured over a 17-week reference period, unless the worker validly opts out or an exception applies.
A civil servant working 37 hours Monday to Friday and another 15 hours every weekend could therefore reach 52 hours.
The position needs checking carefully, particularly where the outside activity is another employed job.
There is also a practical issue beyond the statutory limit. Even where the hours are technically lawful, a department may reasonably consider whether outside work is affecting attendance, performance, judgement, health and safety or the person’s ability to carry out their Civil Service responsibilities.
How Is a Self-Employed Side Hustle Taxed in 2026/27?
Civil servants do not receive a special tax exemption for their side businesses.
For the 2026/27 tax year, the standard Personal Allowance remains £12,570. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the main Income Tax rates remain 20%, 40% and 45%, depending on taxable income. Scotland has separate bands and rates.
The main side-hustle rule is the £1,000 trading allowance.
HMRC says that where total annual gross trading income is £1,000 or less, full trading-allowance relief may apply. Where gross trading income exceeds £1,000, the person generally needs to consider Self Assessment and can potentially deduct either qualifying actual expenses or the trading allowance, subject to the relevant rules.
HMRC’s Director of Small Business & Individuals, Kevin Hubbard, put the issue simply in July 2026:
“If you’re earning more than £1,000 a year from your side hustle it’s important to understand your tax responsibilities.”
The key word is gross.
If a civil servant receives £3,500 from customers but incurs £1,500 of business costs, the £1,000 test looks at the £3,500 receipts rather than the £2,000 left after those costs.
For a full filing walkthrough, see our guide to declaring side-hustle income to HMRC.
Does a Civil Service Salary Mean You Pay Class 4 National Insurance Immediately?
No. This point is often explained incorrectly.
A salary above £12,570 does not by itself mean Class 4 National Insurance starts on the first pound of self-employed profit.
For 2026/27, HMRC says Class 4 National Insurance applies where self-employed profits exceed £12,570. The rate is 6% between the Lower Profits Limit and £50,270, with 2% applying above the Upper Profits Limit.
Where somebody is both employed and self-employed, special annual maximum rules can affect the final National Insurance calculation, but the self-employed profit threshold remains relevant. HMRC’s detailed National Insurance manual confirms that the employed-and-self-employed annual maximum applies where the individual is liable to both Class 1 and Class 4 contributions.
Worked Example
Assume a civil servant earns £35,000 from their Civil Service job and makes:
- £4,500 gross from freelance design
- £700 of allowable business costs
If they use actual expenses, their business profit is £3,800.
That £3,800 would generally be added to their other taxable income for Income Tax purposes. Because their Civil Service salary has already used the Personal Allowance, the extra taxable profit may fall within their marginal Income Tax band.
However, £3,800 of self-employed profit is below the £12,570 Class 4 Lower Profits Limit, so it would not automatically create a 6% Class 4 charge simply because their employment salary exceeds £12,570.
This distinction can materially change a side hustler’s expected tax bill.
Is the £1,000 Side-Hustle Threshold Increasing to £3,000?
The government has announced plans to increase the Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income from £1,000 to £3,000 gross during this Parliament.
However, this should not be confused with increasing the tax-free trading allowance to £3,000.
The proposal is intended to let some people with trading income between £1,000 and £3,000 report and pay any tax through a simpler system instead of a full Self Assessment return.
As of 3 October 2026, current HMRC guidance continues to state that people with gross trading income over £1,000 may need to register for Self Assessment. Civil servants should therefore work from the current £1,000 rules rather than assuming the announced £3,000 reporting system is already available.
Laura Suter, Director of Personal Finance at AJ Bell, has also stressed the distinction, noting that the proposed change concerns how smaller amounts are reported, rather than turning £3,000 into a new tax-free allowance.
Will Vinted, Etsy, eBay or Freelance Platforms Tell HMRC?
Potentially.
UK reporting rules require many digital platforms to collect information on sellers and send reportable information to HMRC.
This should not be confused with a new “platform tax”. A platform reporting information does not automatically mean the seller owes tax. HMRC still considers whether the person is actually trading and what existing tax rules apply.
There is also an important detail often missed in side-hustle articles.
For sales of goods, the occasional-seller exclusion applies where a seller makes fewer than 30 sales and receives no more than €2,000, approximately £1,700, during the reporting period.
That particular exclusion does not apply in the same way to services, transport rental or property rental.
Therefore, somebody providing freelance services through an online platform should not assume that “under 30 transactions” prevents platform reporting.
Does Making Tax Digital Affect Civil Servants With Side Businesses?
It can, but the Civil Service salary itself is not what determines the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax threshold.
MTD for Income Tax began its mandatory rollout on 6 April 2026 for eligible sole traders and landlords with more than £50,000 of qualifying income.
The threshold reduces to more than £30,000 from April 2027 and more than £20,000 from April 2028 under the current timetable.
Crucially, qualifying income is based on relevant self-employment and property income, not the person’s Civil Service salary.
Therefore, a civil servant earning £55,000 in salary plus £5,000 from a small side business would not reach the £50,000 MTD threshold merely because their combined income is £60,000.
Someone with £55,000 of qualifying self-employment and property income could.
What About Civil Servants Making Money From Social Media?
Social media creates two separate issues.
The first is ordinary outside-employment compliance. Advertising revenue, sponsorship, affiliate commissions and paid partnerships can turn an account into remunerated outside work.
The second is Civil Service impartiality.
Civil servants remain bound by the Civil Service Code when communicating publicly. Particular care is required where the content concerns government policy, ministers, political parties, official information or topics directly connected with the person’s job.
Political activity also has its own rules.
Official guidance divides civil servants into politically free, intermediate and politically restricted groups. The politically restricted group includes the Senior Civil Service, Grades 6 and 7 and the Fast Stream Development Programme. These groups face different restrictions and permission requirements for national political activity.
A monetised account about fitness, cooking or photography therefore presents a different issue from a monetised political commentary account operated by someone working in government.
Can Senior Civil Servants Have Side Hustles?
Potentially, but the transparency and conflict requirements become more significant.
The Cabinet Office requires relevant outside interests to be actively managed. Paid or otherwise remunerated secondary employment held by Senior Civil Servants is also subject to enhanced transparency arrangements.
Senior officials should therefore expect greater scrutiny of:
- company directorships
- consultancy
- advisory positions
- paid speaking
- external boards
- substantial commercial ventures
The fact that an activity takes place outside normal working hours does not by itself remove a conflict.
What Happens When a Civil Servant Leaves Government?
A side business may also affect someone’s eventual move into the private sector.
The current Business Appointment Rules apply after Civil Service employment ends.
For SCS1 and above, the Rules apply for two years after the last day of paid service. Below SCS1 they normally apply for one year, although departments can extend this to up to two years for designated roles in exceptional cases.
Whether an application is required depends on factors including previous involvement with the prospective employer, policy responsibilities, regulatory decisions, access to commercially sensitive information, lobbying and consultancy connected with organisations dealt with during Civil Service employment.
This is particularly important for somebody hoping to turn their government-sector expertise into private consultancy immediately after leaving.
What Did We Learn From Civil Servants Already Doing Second Jobs?
Discussions among current and prospective UK civil servants show that outside earning is not unusual, although experiences vary considerably by department and role.
Examples discussed publicly include supermarket shifts, delivery work, tutoring, art, refereeing and yoga instruction. The recurring advice from civil servants themselves is to discuss the work with the department rather than assuming an unrelated activity will automatically be fine.
These discussions are useful for understanding real-world concerns but should not replace departmental rules or official Cabinet Office guidance.
There is also a financial lesson.
Tutoring and specialist freelance work may generate more income per hour than taking large numbers of low-paid evening shifts. But higher hourly rates can come with greater conflict, tax and client-management considerations.
The right choice is therefore not necessarily the side hustle advertising the highest headline earnings. For a civil servant, it is the activity that produces worthwhile net income per hour after tax and costs while remaining clearly compatible with their official responsibilities.
Entrepreneur and Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones CBE has described why holding a job while developing a business can work:
“You can start a business while holding on to the day job…”
For civil servants, that entrepreneurial principle still applies, but it sits underneath the additional declaration and conflict-of-interest framework.
A Financial Checklist Before Starting
Before accepting the first customer or signing a second employment contract, a civil servant should work through four separate questions.
Civil Service compliance: Does the activity need declaring, and has the department confirmed whether approval is required?
Conflict risk: Does the business overlap with departmental responsibilities, clients, suppliers, regulated organisations, policy work or official contacts?
Time: Can the work be performed without affecting Civil Service performance or breaching applicable working-time requirements?
Tax: Is the income employment income, trading income or something else, and what reporting and record-keeping obligations follow?
Treating these as separate tests avoids a common mistake: assuming that because HMRC allows an activity for tax purposes, the employer must also allow it.
Tax compliance does not equal Civil Service approval, and Civil Service approval does not remove the obligation to pay tax.
Final View
Side hustles for civil servants are not simply a choice between “allowed” and “not allowed”.
There are really three tests.
First, the Civil Service test: declare the outside interest and establish whether approval is needed.
Second, the conflict test: make sure the business does not exploit government information, contacts, authority or influence and does not interfere with official duties.
Third, the financial test: understand whether the income is PAYE employment or self-employment, keep appropriate records and meet HMRC obligations.
For many civil servants, the most workable options will therefore be activities that are commercially useful but professionally distant from their government responsibilities: tutoring unrelated subjects, creative selling, local services, weekend employment or a carefully separated online business.
The opportunity is real, but the compliance work needs to come before the first invoice, not after it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Civil Servant Have a Second Job at Tesco, a Pub or Another Retailer?
Potentially, yes. It should be declared under the relevant departmental procedure, and conflicts, performance and combined working hours still need consideration.
Can a Civil Servant Be Self-Employed?
Yes, self-employment is possible, subject to outside-interest rules, departmental procedures and conflict-of-interest assessment.
Can a Civil Servant Sell on Vinted?
Selling personal unwanted possessions is normally different from running a commercial reselling business. Regularly buying stock to sell for profit is more likely to constitute trading and should be considered as outside commercial activity.
Can Civil Servants Run an Etsy Shop?
Potentially. A small craft business unrelated to government responsibilities will generally present fewer conflict concerns than consultancy or policy-related work, but remunerated outside activity should still be declared.
Can Civil Servants Do Freelance Consulting?
Potentially, but consultancy connected with the person’s policy, regulatory, procurement or commercial responsibilities is one of the highest-risk forms of outside work.
Do Civil Servants Pay Tax on Side Hustles?
Yes. Civil servants follow the same HMRC rules as other taxpayers. The current trading allowance is £1,000 gross per tax year, subject to the detailed eligibility rules.
Does My Civil Service Salary Mean I Automatically Pay Class 4 Ni on a Small Side Hustle?
No. For 2026/27, Class 4 normally starts when self-employed profits exceed £12,570, although concurrent employment can affect the overall National Insurance calculation.
Does My Department Find Out Automatically When I Register as Self-Employed?
HMRC registration and Civil Service declaration are separate processes. Civil servants should follow their department’s declaration procedure rather than relying on HMRC information to fulfil employment obligations.
Can a Civil Servant Become a Company Director?
Potentially, but a directorship creates an outside interest that should be declared and assessed for conflicts. The company structure does not bypass Civil Service conduct rules.
Do I Need New Permission If I Change Civil Service Jobs?
Cabinet Office guidance says people moving jobs within the Civil Service must tell their new line manager about their additional employment and seek approval where required.
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