A FORMER Southampton social worker has been suspended for misconduct after using taxpayers’ money to buy petrol for his car.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) took the action after its conduct and competence committee heard that James-Moni Tayamoi twice used a city council credit card to purchase petrol.

He also breached professional boundaries by giving chocolate to a woman identified only as Service User A’s mother and failing to record the gift.

The committee also heard that he applied for a job as a social worker in Poole without revealing that he had lost his previous post in Southampton.

Chairman Polly Clarke said: “The panel considers that the dishonest acts were towards the more serious end of the spectrum. This behaviour brought the profession into disrepute and breached a fundamental tenet of the profession.”

Mr Tayamoi has been suspended from the HCPC register for 12 months.

A HCPC report outlining the evidence given at the hearing said Mr Tayamoi was employed by the council as a part-time supervisor and subsequently as a social work assistant. He qualified as a social worker in November 2013.

The committee heard: “On December 20, 2013, Mr Tayamoi signed out a city council fuel card to enable him to fill up a hire car he was using later that day for council business.

“Mr Tayamoi retained the fuel card until January 21, 2014, when he returned it to the finance team with four fuel receipts.”

The report said the social worker had bought unleaded fuel twice, but the hire car used diesel.

It said Mr Tayamoi confirmed that he deliberately used the card to buy petrol for his own car, saying he had financial problems at the time but was ashamed of his behaviour.

Committee members heard that the social worker bought more than £80 of petrol using the credit card but subsequently repaid the money.

Mr Tayamoi was also found to have breached professional boundaries by giving chocolates to Service User A’s mother and not recording the visit on the council’s system.

After losing his job he applied for a post with Poole Borough Council but failed to provide full details of his previous employment in Southampton.

The report said Mr Tayamoi was “very apologetic and remorseful” when interviewed by the borough council’s principle manager, Stephen Murray.

He admitted that he had attempted to deceive the borough council in respect of his city council employment record.”

The TaxPayers Alliance declined to comment.