Embellished CV’s – Is There Any Recourse For Employers?
The art of “embellishing” a CV is quite common among jobseekers, who do not tend to see the harm in sprinkling a few extra details throughout their CVs, especially in a tough job market.
Some recent studies have suggested that up to 50% of the population has at least a small amount of misleading or inflated content within their CV. However, embellishing a CV can certainly have some adverse consequences not just for the job seeker, but likewise employers, who face the possibility of inadvertently being caught up in a web of lies.
Embellishments
The most common type of embellishments jobseekers make to their CVs, is in the form of exaggerating experience in order to enhance the chances of landing their desired job. Other common embellishments can include, altered dates of previous employment and false references or referees.
CVs are essentially marketing tools, used to sell the skills, education and experience of the jobseeker to prospective employers, and despite their formal contents, CVs are not legal documents. However, the fact that they are not legal documents certainly does not mean that the act of embellishing is legal.
Consequences for jobseekers who embellish CVs can be in the form of financial, professional and can even be of a legal nature, which has been demonstrated in recent times both here in Australia and abroad.
In Western Australia, the Western Australian Government (Administration) Regulations have armed local government with the authority to impose a fine of up to $5,000, on jobseekers who submit applications with embellished, false or misleading information for CEO roles. Whilst this may seem like a harsh consequence to a jobseeker, just for adding a few sprinkles of profile boosting information to an application. It is, however, a welcome relief to employers considering that some companies can spend tens of thousands of dollars on recruitment campaigns. From an employers’ perspective, these fines are very much justified.
In an ever greater demonstration of an adverse consequence to a jobseeker, a UK woman who lied about tertiary qualifications on a CV received a 6-month prison sentence, with the court also ordering her to repay her fees to her employer and complete 150 hours of community service. In this instance, the employer at the very least receives some compensation for the precarious position that the employee put them in.
Legal Implications For The Jobseeker/Employee
While CVs are not legal documents, there are some circumstances where an embellished CV can land a jobseeker or an employee in hot water and can even result in criminal charges.
Examples of this include presenting fake documents in support of fictitious credentials, such as tertiary degrees, or the signing of a legal form or disclaimer confirming false credentials, which can both lead to charges of fraud.
Additionally, some specific qualifications enable individuals to perform tasks that can potentially risk the safety of others. An example of this is a Doctor, performing surgery. An unqualified individual in this example poses great risks to the safety of others, and if something were to go wrong, the unqualified person can leave themselves and the employer open to enormous liability both in civil and criminal jurisdiction.
Workplace Rights – Employers On Top
Whilst an embellished CV has the potential to open an employer up to liability, it is not all bad news for employers thanks to the “after acquired evidence rule”. This rule comes into play when the employee/employer relationship was found to be based on fraudulent information to start with, meaning that any illegal acts that may or may not have occurred during the course of the employment relationship may not be actionable by law.
Whilst the employer will need to prove that the misrepresentation and fraudulent information were severe, at least the employer is afforded the opportunity to make the employee accountable and responsible for their actions.
The Role Of The Employer And Termination Of Employee
Naturally, employers place a significant amount of trust in their employees, and the employer/employee relationship is one that is ultimately built on such trust. However, employers can certainly take charge of ensuring that they protect themselves from the chances of employing someone who has sprinkled some lies throughout their CV.
These safeguards can be implemented by adopting more stringent pre-employment checks and processes and can be achieved quite easily through the readily available use of technology, social media, and even utilising the services of a recruitment agency to assist in this process.
Should an employer wind up employing an individual who has embellished their CV, the employer is able to terminate the employee due to the misrepresentation.
In the case of Charles Tham v Hertz, Hertz successfully defended an unfair dismissal claim by an employee who had lied and made a misrepresentation on his CV, by deliberately omitting his prior place of work. The Fair Work Commission found in favour of Hertz and stated that Hertz was well within its employer’s rights to rely on the honesty and integrity of its employees. This again highlights that employers are safeguarded legally when faced with an employee who has an embellished CV, however, it is also an example of turbulence and disruption that an employer can face in order to defend themselves.
Given the legal, professional, and financial consequences that exist for employees who embellish their CVs, it is incredible to think that this practice is still occurring. But it most certainly is, and employers need to take great care and place considerable effort in their pre-employment process to safeguard their businesses.
What Can I Do To Protect Myself?
There are several steps you can take to try and reduce the risk of getting caught up with an employee who makes false claims on their CV.
Including:
pre-employment screening questionnaires
background checks
searching online/social media checks - even a quick Google search can help identify potential holes in a candidate’s story
asking for hard copy or certified copies of qualifications
The team at You Legal are happy to provide more guidance on how to make your recruitment processes and policies more robust - contact us today for a complimentary chat.