jobsworth

/ ˈdʒɒbzˌwɜːθ /

noun

1. informal.
   a person in a position of minor authority who invokes the letter of the law in order to avoid any action requiring initiative, cooperation, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of jobsworth¹

C20: from it's more than my job's worth to …

Example Sentences

"He's obsessed with his job. He does do it well, but he's a little bit of a jobsworth as well."

From BBC

It would have been a VAR penalty in every sense, a jobsworth’s fantasy.

From The Guardian

I was going to hike up to their cabin and it would be pot-luck whether they’d be an enthusiast and welcome me in or a grizzly jobsworth who’d tell me to get stuffed.

From The Guardian

"I know it sounds jobsworth. But he can get on with his training while we will pursue all avenues to piece together the evidence."

From BBC

Number 10’s contempt for parliament had also been on show earlier in the day when James Duddridge, another minor jobsworth of limited talent and charm, rather than the Brexit secretary had been pushed out to answer an urgent question on whether the government intended to request an extension if no deal was reached by 31 October.

From The Guardian