Margaret Munzara

Introduction

Margaret Munzara is an Edinburgh social care worker who was struck off by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) after it was discovered she had used a fake identity to register for care work. In March 2024, Munzara was convicted under the Identity Documents Act 2010 of possessing a false passport that was improperly obtained — the same document she had used in 2011 to apply to join the SSSC register to work as a support worker in a care home. The regulator has now issued her a removal order, which makes it an offence for an employer to employ her in any role that requires registration.

Background Information

Munzara applied to join the social services register in 2011, submitting a copy of a false passport — including a false name and date of birth — when applying to the SSSC to work as a support worker in a care home. She registered at the SSSC headquarters in Dundee. According to the SSSC’s decision note, she purposely concealed her true identity from the regulator and falsely answered “no” when asked directly whether she had ever been known by any other names. She was also found to have submitted the false information when she applied to work in another area of the care sector in 2019.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Munzara’s conviction under the Identity Documents Act 2010 for possessing a false passport that was improperly obtained was a matter of court record, entered at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on March 25, 2024. The SSSC’s findings about her registration history and its characterisations of her conduct are regulatory findings; no other criminal counts were reported.

The deception spanned 15 years of care work under a false identity. The SSSC said the seriousness of Munzara’s actions was of the “highest level” and that they had put vulnerable individuals receiving support at risk of harm. The council stated: “The behaviour seriously compromises your professional values and the ability of service users and their families to place trust and reliance in you.” It continued: “Individuals receiving care and support in their own homes have the right to expect honesty and integrity from social service workers, and to be able to trust them. Your conduct is serious abuse of the trust and confidence placed in you as a social service worker.”

Munzara was brought before Edinburgh Sheriff Court on March 25, 2024 — “March 25 last year”, as the Edinburgh News reported in July 2026 — where the conviction under the Identity Documents Act 2010 was entered.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The SSSC issued Munzara a removal order, which makes it an offence for an employer to employ her in any role that requires registration. The council said the removal was the only appropriate sanction given the “clear pattern of behaviour” she had displayed and the risk she posed to vulnerable clients.

The case was reported by the Edinburgh Evening News in July 2026 under a headline describing an Edinburgh social care worker struck off by the watchdog after working under a false identity.

Current Status

Munzara is removed from the SSSC register, and employing her in any role that requires registration is now a criminal offence for an employer. The removal captures both the original false registration in 2011 and the second use of false information in her 2019 application to work in another area of the care sector. The sources reported no appeal against the removal order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The conviction and removal ended a 15-year care career that was built on the false identity from the outset. Unlike most SSSC removals, which follow misconduct toward service users, this case concerned the integrity of the register itself: the regulator’s decision treated the sustained concealment of her true identity — including a direct lie when asked whether she had ever been known by other names — as a “highest level” seriousness matter that put vulnerable people at risk, because the vetting and registration system never knew who was actually working in their homes. The removal order’s effect extends beyond the register: any employer hiring her for a registration-required role would itself be committing an offence.