Liar, liar ñ now youíre fired!

One quarter of employers in the UK withdrew at least one job offer in the last year after discovering someone had lied or otherwise misrepresented their application. And nearly as many (23%) dismissed someone who was already in post for the same offence. These findings are taken from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentís annual Recruitment and Retention Survey, which will be published in full next week.


The comprehensive survey of the recruitment and retention experiences of 715 UK employers also asked employers how often they carried out various checks on candidatesí applications, and found that many employers do not carry out routine checks on the people they employ:

23% of employers do not always take up candidatesí 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 only sometimes;

Employers seem likely to satisfy themselves about an employeeís application mostly on the basis of a check on their most recent employment history ñ only 6% never or rarely check this.

Rebecca Clake, Recruitment Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said:
ìA CV is not the best place for modesty. Thereís nothing wrong with selling yourself when youíre applying for a job. But lies or deliberate distortions could leave you out of a job, and limit your chances of getting a new one.

ìEmployers need to be careful. A strong economy and low unemployment means many employers are struggling to find applicants. But there are risks that go with rushing candidates into fill vacancies without pausing to make basic checks. If you donít have rigorous pre-employment checks in place, you risk being a soft touch for people who are willing to be dishonest to get work or advance their careers. On the other hand, if all employers carried out checks on a more regular basis, itís more likely those people who genuinely fit the criteria for the job will be successful.

ìCIPD recommends that employers should always take up references to check facts such as qualifications gained and previous jobs held. However, employers should also take care not to rely on subjective opinion with regard to competence or performance.î

The CIPD has published a free fact sheet on references, available from www.cipd.co.uk, to help employers put in place appropriate systems for checking applicants are not misrepresenting themselves when applying for jobs.

CASE STUDY: St Mungoís ñ recruitment for work with vulnerable people St Mungoís is a homeless charity which undertakes outreach work and runs over 70 housing projects including short- and longer-stay hostels. St Mungoís routinely deals with street homeless people experiencing challenges such as mental health problems and alcohol abuse. Ensuring the employees they select to work with these people are the right ones is crucial. However, in the last 12 months, the organisation has had to withdraw job offers as well as taking existing employees through the disciplinary process (resulting in dismissal) as a result of lies or misleading information on candidatesí applications.

The organisation has stringent recruitment procedures. For successful candidates, initially there is a standard reference-checking process. Further investigation at this stage has recently revealed examples of candidates using a ëreferences agencyí to provide references on demand and also of candidates providing references from organisations they have never worked for, using ëborrowed company stationeryí.

Standard reference checks can fail to provide detailed information on applicants who have travelled extensively and moved from job to job. A CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check is a requirement for employers recruiting individuals to work with identified vulnerable groups and this must also take place. This check will indicate any criminal activity in the individualís past.

In addition to this, St Mungoís has recently made it a requirement for all successful candidates to come to their offices in person to fill in relevant recruitment documentation and for photocopies of documents such as passports and proof of address to be taken. In the past, this information had been sent in through the post. This new practice is the result of realising that one job applicant had submitted a passport as proof of identity and right to work in the UK but the passport photo revealed the person of that name to be someone else.

This case study is taken from the CIPDís Annual Recruitment, Retention and Turnover survey. Case study supplied by Pete Jeffery, Executive Director, HR, Facilities & Audit.