Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Out-Law News 1 min. read

Did your staff lie in their job applications?


One quarter of employers in the UK withdrew at least one job offer in the last year after discovering that someone had lied or otherwise misrepresented their application. And nearly as many sacked an existing worker for the same offence.

These findings are taken from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's annual Recruitment and Retention Survey, which will be published in full next week.

The survey of the recruitment and retention experiences of 715 UK employers also asked employers how often they carried out various checks on candidates' applications, and found that 23% of employers do not always take up candidates' references – although 90% said they do so mostly or always.

Regarding other routine checks:

  • 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 employee's application mostly on the basis of a check on their most recent employment history – only 6% never or rarely check this.

Rebecca Clake, Recruitment Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, told employers to be careful.

"A strong economy and low unemployment means many employers are struggling to find applicants," she said. "But there are risks that go with rushing candidates into fill vacancies without pausing to make basic checks. If you don't 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."

She also pointed out that if all employers carried out checks on a more regular basis, it's more likely those people who genuinely fit the criteria for the job will be successful.

CIPD 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.

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