Following on from news last week that Patrick Imbardelli, Chief Executive of Intercontinental Hotelsí Asia Pacific Region has resigned after his employers found he had overstated qualifications on his CV, Sue Ashtiany, Head of Employment at law firm Nabarro, comments on the pitfalls of investigating an employees background after they have joined the company.
Employers can be quite lax about checking the details of a CV or application form and often rely on fairly basic recruitment tools. However it can also be quite questionable if they start trying to use the fact that a CV is incorrect to dismiss an employee sometime after he or she has started work. You could ask what has suddenly become so relevant? It is a matter of fact and degree.
ìFor example none of us would want medical treatment from a bogus doctor. On the other hand how much can it really matter whether the CEO did or did not get a university degree 20 years ago?
ìFor more junior employees who are not performing very well in the probationary period, it is quite common to find an application form that contains gaps, doesn't quite make sense or is written with a lot of help by someone better qualified. For more senior people a company will only usually review the CV if something else seems to be unraveling. We will then be asked to advise on whether the fact that the CV has been a bit economical is good reason for sacking and we frequently advise caution.
ìCourts can be quite sceptical of dismissals in such cases. In addition, it can be unlawful to dismiss someone if, say, they haven't revealed a disability in their application because dismissing them for it could be disability discrimination.î
Employers beware of sacking staff due to CV discrepancies
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