Truth will out – lies and the recruitment process

Posted: 02/12/2024

Questions have been asked over the past week about the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s suitability for her job, with recent changes to Rachel Reeves’ LinkedIn profile suggesting that she does not have as much experience as an economist as previously claimed.

LinkedIn profiles and CVs are of course the first port of call for prospective employers when considering candidates and, designed as they are to showcase a person’s skills and experience, it is perhaps unsurprising that they can occasionally be a little ‘embellished’. But what can an employer do if it learns, or suspects, that a candidate has gone one step further and actively lied on their CV as part of the recruitment process?

Discovering that an employee has lied on their CV can be a challenging situation for any employer, and can call into question an employee’s integrity and their suitability for the role. But while it is clearly a serious matter if a hospital doctor does not in fact hold a medical degree, does it really matter if an employee’s first class degree from a red-brick university turns out to be an upper second from a former polytechnic, or their Oxford ‘degree’ turns out to be a one year teaching diploma from the institute of education, and not a degree from the university (step forward former politician Jeffrey Archer)?

Employers may take the view that dishonesty is dishonesty, regardless of whether it in fact affects the employee’s ability to carry out the role. If discovered, through fact-checking, that an employee has lied about their qualifications, for example, before they have accepted an offer of employment, the process is fairly simple – the employer can just withdraw the offer before it is accepted. It is important to document the reason for the withdrawal to ensure that the candidate does not allege that the withdrawal is for a discriminatory reason, for example.

If, however, the employee has already accepted the offer of employment, then employers will need to show that the offer was conditional upon the employee’s statements about their qualifications etc being true – a well drafted offer letter should make this clear. Even if an offer has been made unconditionally, all is not lost, although employees may have a claim for breach of contract if the employer cannot show that the employee is in fundamental breach. 

Where the dishonesty is discovered after the employment has commenced, then employers must ensure that they have a fair reason for dismissal (here, misconduct), and that they follow a fair procedure before taking disciplinary action, although note that only those employees with over two years’ service have the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim. As above, reasons should always be given for any disciplinary action and, if choosing to dismiss the employee summarily ie without notice or payment in lieu of notice, then an employer will need to show that the dismissal is in response to a fundamental breach of contract, otherwise it risks a wrongful dismissal claim. The employer should ensure that dishonesty, including during the recruitment process, is expressly classed as gross misconduct in its disciplinary procedure, although this on its own will not defeat a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Employees who lie on their CV may also be subject to criminal penalties, as is illustrated by the 2022 Supreme Court case of R v Andrewes. In 2004, Mr Andrewes obtained the post of chief executive officer of a hospice by making a number of false or dishonestly inflated and misleading statements about his educational qualifications and experience. 

He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, and two counts of fraud.  Significantly for his employer, the court also made a confiscation order which meant that they were able to recoup almost £100,000 of his earnings. Employers should take note, however; this type of remedy is incredibly rare and will only be a prospect in the most serious of cases.

Practical steps

• Ensure that offers of employment are expressly made conditional on the employee’s qualifications and other statements on the CV being accurate.
• Review recruitment processes and ensure that all necessary background checks, reference checks, and verification of qualifications are undertaken.
• Make clear in the disciplinary policy that the provision of false information during the recruitment process will be treated as gross misconduct which could lead to summary dismissal.
• Before taking any action, ensure that the information received is accurate. Conduct a thorough investigation to confirm that the employee indeed provided false information.
• Consider the nature of the lie and its impact on the employee's ability to perform their job. Evaluate how the false information affects the employee's role and the organisation as a whole.
• Decide on the appropriate action – withdrawal of offer of employment, or warning/dismissal for employees already in their post?

The nature of the job should also be taken into account: those in regulated industries (finance, law, medical, insurance etc) may well be expected to be held to a higher level of probity (aka integrity in political circles). As things stand, it doesn’t seem that being Chancellor of the Exchequer, and subject to the Ministerial Code, elevates the duty of honesty to those levels.

For further advice, please contact Paul Mander.

Return to news headlines