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.
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.
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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps ordered an investigation and said he expects quick answers from agency bosses.
Civil servants went on special paid leave if they were not working on site but could not log onto DVLA systems remotely.
They included employees who were vulnerable to Covid due to health conditions, were isolating because of Covid contacts and those with caring responsibilities.
It also included those who could not go into the office due to limits of numbers on site.
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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.
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The agency said it expected to be back to normal for most driver services by the end of May.
It said its Covid numbers aligned with those in the community and that the strikes affects its backlog.
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