Everyone’s a loser in the lying game
26 July 2005
WORKERS who lie on their CVs could spend a lifetime on the recruitment blacklist, a leading employment lawyer has warned.
New research suggests that 70 per cent of applicants bend the truth to get a job and a quarter of employers have had to withdraw at least one job offer in the last twelve months after discovering an employee has lied about their past.
Once discovered CV fraudsters are usually sacked but in extreme cases they could find themselves in court.
Sadiq Vohra, partner at Preston-based law firm MWR, said: “If you are caught lying the ultimate sanction is dismissal but technically it can be construed as a breach of contract and you could be sued.
“If a person claims they have certain skills which they have not and their company loses out financially as a result, a claim could be made for that loss.
“All of this would greatly affect a person’s employment prospects for the future and perhaps even leave them unemployable in their chosen profession, if not in every sector.
“In a tough job market it is tempting to exaggerate or lie but the repercussions can cause permanent damage.”
In its annual ‘Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Survey’ the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that liars were slipping through the net as many companies did not check references.
The report showed that:
- 23% of employers do not always take up a candidate’s references (although 90% do so mostly or always)
- 20% of organisations either rarely or never check on absence records with a further 19% doing so only sometimes
- 24% of organisations never (11%) or rarely (13%) check on academic qualifications, with a further 19% doing so sometimes
MWR specialises in personal injury claims, employment matters, domestic conveyancing, wills and probate
