There’s no doubt that we are seeing an increase in issues in relation to CVs, references and qualifications. Our own screening data suggest that, for example we know 1 in 20 qualifications are misquoted – that is not completed, grade exaggerated or simply fake. With the growth of so called “novelty” certificates you can have a genuine looking certificate for a degree or other qualification or membership that may never be checked! High profile investigations by the NHS counter fraud group has detected people without claimed qualifications and this year we have also seen teachers getting barred over fake references, convicted fraudsters being found out and the list goes on. Most surveys suggest that between 40% and 70% of CVs have discrepancies, some are simple errors but others are whoppers that are often left undetected.
However, the pressure is on, with Rhiannon Mackay becoming the first woman to be jailed for 6 months due to lies on her NHS CV. Could a robust screening process have prevented this, yes, absolutely, two falsely claimed A levels and a completely false reference got through. The pressure is on to “up, our game” – to prevent illegal workers, the unqualified and from the Governments perspective – terrorist infiltration, it is becoming even more vital to carry our robust pre-employment screening, vetting and background checks. With ever more graduates and a growing pool of unemployed people perhaps the growth in mis-quoted qualifications is inevitable. There are even web sites advising how people should “enhance” the truth on their CVs, advice is one thing but they should beware – pecuniary advantage is a criminal offence and the least that might happen is that they will lose their new job after already leaving their old one but like Rhiannon they may end up with a fine, criminal record or a prison sentence. Try explaining that to potential new employers!
Without doubt illegal workers will find it harder to get jobs in the future as the number of prosecutions and detections continues to increase, we expect that we will also see a rise in fake, stolen and counterfeit documents. We have experts who understand and can easily detect these documents but we also always check at source with the relevant authorities that the document belongs to the named person and that the name and other details cross correlate with the other information we have. We know that just because documents look real they are not necessarily genuine. The days of simply photocopying them and getting the applicants to sign to say that they are not illegal workers are fast diminishing.
We are also witnessing the growth of organisations providing full employment and background histories, divert to mobile reference calls, CVs and letter headed employment and schooling histories. Whatever happens, all employers need to stay focused and move with the times as the level of sophistication increases to counter our efforts to screen out the undesirable applicants.
If you have any comments or questions regarding this article please contact info@agenda-security.co.uk or ring 08456 445546 to speak to one of our team.
