The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) the UK’s leading business organisation is warning firms about the scale of fraudulent employment references. In conjunction with the BBC TV show, Fake Britain, the FSB surveyed over 1800 small firms and found that nearly 1 in 5 (17%) had been victims of candidates using fraudulent references to gain employment. Alarmingly, the survey found that 9% of respondents admitted to not checking references so the figure is likely to be even higher.
The use of fraudulent references was not just consigned to low level positions, with 40% of instances being for mid-level positions, 12% for senior management roles and 2% for director level positions. Men were more than twice as likely as women to use a fake reference.
Barry Hetherington, Director of employment screening firm Know Your Candidate commented: “While the issue of fake references affects businesses of all sizes, the impact is felt more acutely in small firms, as a single employee represents a significant proportion of its workforce. At the very least small firms hiring a candidate without the necessary skills and experience are going to suffer reduced productivity, incur additional recruitment and training costs on replacing the candidate. At worst firms’ risk losing customers and revenue if the candidate cannot perform their intended role adequately. Furthermore let’s not forget the impact on genuine candidates with bona fide references who have been cheated out of an opportunity”.
While completing employment references can be a time consuming task, it is clear from the FSB survey that it’s time well spent given the potential consequences. As well as ensuring all references are checked, employers can protect themselves by implementing a number of simple measures which are quick and easy to do. Alternatively, if resources or time is scarce, firms could consider outsourcing their employment references to a specialist employment screening firm.
1. Make it clear to the candidate that you will check references
Many candidates using fraudulent references do so in the knowledge that employers will not follow them up. Simply letting candidates’ know that all references will be followed up and checked for authenticity will deter the vast majority of fakers.
2. Verify the organisation exists
Although fake reference services can engineer certain aspects to look genuine, providing local phone numbers, addresses and even a website, they cannot totally re-create the footprint a legitimate company would have:
- Verify the company registration number via the Companies House website if a limited company.
- Check the VAT number –use the European Union website VAT number checker.
- Search LinkedIn – does the organisation have a profile? Are profiles of other employees present?
- Verify the company address – use the address checker on the Royal Mail’s website.
3. Do not call the referee directly – go via the HR Department
Calling the referee on a mobile number provided by the candidate may mean that you end up with a reference from the candidate’s friend or colleague posing as their manager. Instead call and ask for the HR Department - they will confirm who should be providing the reference for your candidate.
4. Use a time-based approach to referencing
Obtaining references which cover a set time period e.g. 5 years means the corroboration of employment dates and spotting gaps in the candidate’s CV becomes easier and makes it much more difficult for the candidate to omit employers which may produce a negative reference.
5. Ask for the reference in writing
Written references are more robust and provide a much better audit trail than verbal references. Once you have the basic details in writing there’s nothing to stop you then calling the referee and requesting a more subjective view about the candidate’s work performance.