Local Government - March 2009

Employment – fraudulent CVs

Honest applications – How to detect the fraudulent CV
The recent conviction of Lee Whitehead, former Stoke on Trent PCT director of service is now notorious throughout employers in the NHS.  This kind of case is not unknown in local government and elsewhere in the public sector.

Whitehead lied on his CV about his academic and professional qualifications which enabled him to be appointed to a senior post within the NHS. Six months into his job he was investigated by his employers and resigned when the date for a disciplinary hearing was set. His employers, quite rightly, did not leave the issue there and the police became involved, ultimately resulting in a criminal conviction and 12 week jail sentence.

One would like to think that applicants for employment recognise the importance of telling the truth on their application forms or CVs and yet the results of recent surveys suggest otherwise. For example in 2007, a survey by Experian found that 4 in 10 would lie on their CV if they thought they could “get away with it.” Recent surveys by the “Risk Advisory Group” found a significant proportion of CVs containing at least one inaccuracy and as many as 20% containing outright lies.

This issue is only likely to increase during a period of high unemployment as applicants battle for fewer jobs. All employers need to be vigilant although the issue is more serious for employers providing direct services to vulnerable people than many other sectors. Eeveryon concerned needs to have faith that appropriate people are being recruited.  It is crucial that employers ensure that this confidence is not undermined by inadequate checking and those responsible for checking applicants need to be aware of the lengths that applicants may go to in order to secure employment at all levels of an organisation.

All HR professionals will know that references have been considerably devalued as a recruitment tool in recent years and “standard” references are often sent providing little more detail than the fact and dates of employment. Comment on abilities, performance, conduct, reasons for leaving and so on are now often avoided as organisations ensure that they do not place themselves in a position to be sued by a disgruntled former employee. This devaluation of references increases the importance of an applicant’s own version of their training and employment history, not only to demonstrate competencies for the position but also as a measure of accuracy and honesty.

So what steps might employers adopt to help counter “CV Fraud”?

1.      Prevention - It is recommended that an appropriate statement appears on all application forms to note the requirement for honesty and the potential disciplinary and criminal consequences that can arise from any untruthful statement. This should help put off most of the 40% who might think that they can “get away with it!”

2.      Lies versus “embellishments” - Application forms need to be accurate. It is recognised that the applicants will attempt to portray their own cases for recruitment in the best possible light. However, application forms should ask for certain information in a straightforward way. For example they should eliminate, as far as possible, the ability to leave out any employment and training history.

3.      First stage checking - It may well be worthwhile even at initial short-listing stage, to check the accuracy of certain items. It is important to ensure a consistent approach to the sifting of applications and so, for example, all applications provisionally shortlisted for interview could then go through a “verification” stage and specific details (such as professional qualifications) checked.

4.      Second stage checking - Where a candidate has been provisionally selected for appointment then further details should be checked, including where appropriate checks on criminal convictions. References should also at least verify the employment history and it is recommended that references from employers other than the immediate predecessor be obtained. The successful candidate should be informed that any offer of employment is conditional on and subject to the organisation’s verification processes as well as references. Ideally all these procedures should be complete prior to commencement of employment.

It is crucial that public sector employees adopt robust checking processes at all levels of recruitment and that swift and decisive action is taken in the event of suspected fraud. 

Mark Leach
Partner
Weightmans LLP