RECRUITMENT - 12.04.2018

New employee lied on their CV - what now?

80% now lie

According to the Risk Advisory Group’s (RAG) research “CV Lies 2017” , CV dishonesty continues to increase. RAG reviewed 5,000 CVs via its employee screening division and found that 80% contained one or more discrepancies. This is up by 10% from 2016. The most popular areas for embellishment are inflating educational qualifications and employment history. But suppose you’ve just discovered that a new hire has lied on their CV. What are your options now that they’ve actually started working for you?

Legal position

In this situation, you can’t simply withdraw the job offer. Instead, the first step is to check the employment contract to see if you’ve provided for this scenario, i.e. via a contractual term which says that continuing employment is dependent on the employee’s job application being accurate. Even if you don’t have this particular clause, an employee lying is arguably in breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence. So you can still act.

Mistake v deliberate lie?

However, your exact course of action depends on two things. The first is whether the lie is deliberate or an honest mistake. For example, has the employee lied about having specific qualifications and/or presented a fake certificate, or did they reasonably omit a brief period of unemployment from their CV? The second is whether the lie relates to a core feature of their job. Examples here include claiming to have professional qualifications or chartered memberships which they lack.

Meet employee

You can’t take any action until you’ve discussed your findings with the employee and given them a chance to explain. So arrange a meeting with them as soon as possible. Start by explaining what’s come to light and how you found out. If you have any evidence to support your assertion, present it. Even if this is just a tip-off from a previous colleague, it should be put to the employee.

Tip. You can’t present anonymous allegations; be prepared to give a name and the circumstances behind the revelations. There’s always the chance that it could have been made out of spite.

Disciplinary action

Where the allegations prove to be baseless, or the error is a relatively minor mistake, no further action needs to be taken. If your new employee did lie, you can start disciplinary proceedings. In most cases, this will be for gross misconduct.

Tip 1. The advantage here is that you can effect a summary dismissal, i.e. without giving any notice. Where an employee has less than two years’ service, they cannot claim unfair dismissal.

Tip 2. When making a job offer, make it clear that it is dependent on accurate information about academic and professional qualifications. Where such qualifications are stated and they are integral to the job, seek the applicant’s consent and then verify the information with the awarding body (see The next step ).

For a free offer of appointment letter and a free verification of qualifications consent form, visit http://tipsandadvice-personnel.co.uk/download (PS 20.08.04).