Can you sack an employee if they've lied on their CV (even if it's only a little bit)?

In November the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was accused of “exaggerating” and “lying” about her economic experience. Reeves studied philosophy, politics and economics Oxford University and did a master's degree in economics at the London School of Economics. As to whether she had claimed to have worked as an economist, rather than in the retail division of the Halifax Bank of Scotland, remains unclear. But the confusion gave her political opponents an opportunity to attack her credibility and create damaging headlines for the government.

In the context of an employment relationship, there's clearly a difference between a candidate thinking creatively about how their skills meet the requirements of the job they are applying for, and one who lies about their experience, the reason why they left their previous job or their qualifications.

Discovering that your employee has lied on their CV is challenging for any employer. If they've already started work, can you sack them? What about if you find out years later and they appear to be doing a good job? Is it a criminal offence to lie about your qualifications? And if your business is regulated, do you need to report what has happened? 

Some recent examples

Last summer, the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Nick Adderly, was dismissed for gross misconduct and was put on the barred police list for lying about his naval rank and experience.  

His dishonesty only came to light after he was seen wearing a medal from the Falklands War which he was too young to have fought in. A member of the public complained to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who then carried out an investigation which exposed his lies.  

The IOPC has referred its findings to the CPS to consider criminal charges of misconduct in a public office and fraud by false representation.

In October, a nurse was jailed for five years for fraud and false representations after it was discovered she had lied about having the necessary qualifications to become a ward manager on a neonatal ward.

She faked her reference using an NHS email account of a nurse she had previously worked with and was appointed to the role. In what only can be described as an understatement, the judge said “In my view, this went far beyond an acceptable level of talking yourself up for an application or embellishing proper experience.” Indeed.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council said that they “will be taking the appropriate regulatory steps” which is likely to mean striking her off the register which will prevent her from being able to work as a nurse again. 

It's not just an issue in the UK. The chief engineer at South Africa's state-owned passenger rail company was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he falsely claimed to have several mechanical engineering qualifications. 

Lessons for other employers - pre-employment

1. Use the interview process to check the candidate does have the experience or skills they claim to have

Don't take short cuts or appoint someone on the basis of your “gut instinct”. Use the interview process to really test if the candidate has the skills they say they have rather than simply the behaviours you want them to demonstrate.

You may also want to ask them why they left their former employment. If they have been sacked for gross misconduct, you'll be able to ask them what they did etc rather than waiting for references which are unlikely to go into this level of detail.

2. Check their qualifications 

It's obvious, but if you've listed specific qualifications as an essential requirement of the job, you need to check that your preferred candidate has achieved these. Visually inspecting certificates may not be enough as it's relatively easy to buy these off the internet or create one. You can approach the awarding body direct or use an agency to do this for you. 

You will need the candidate’s name at the time of graduation, plus their date of birth, the name of institution they studied with, qualification type e.g. BA, MA, PhD, the course name, grade achieved and date of the award. 

In most cases you may only need to check their highest, or most relevant qualification.

3. … and their work experience

Most employers limit what they say when giving a reference. However, they should still be able to confirm that the candidate's:

• job title matches the one they have given you
• employment dates are accurate; and
• reason they have given for leaving their job is true.

4. Make the job offer conditional on receiving satisfactory references

This will protect you if it turns out that the dazzling candidate you thought was perfect for the job turns out to be anything but. 

If you don't make a job offer conditional on receiving satisfactory references (including confirming that the information they've provided is true and accurate) and withdraw it you will be in breach of contract and will have to pay the candidate the notice set out in the contract. This is because, once the offer is accepted, a binding contract of employment is formed, even if the employee has not yet started work.

Make sure that you clearly explain why you have withdrawn the offer to minimise the risk the candidate will allege that your decision was motivated by discrimination. 

Options for employers - post employment

1. Investigating and fairly dismissing an employee 

If you find out that someone has lied on their CV and they haven't worked for you for two years or more, you will usually be able dismiss them without risk. If their lies are serious enough to amount to dishonesty, you can dismiss them without notice.  Otherwise, you'll need to give them notice.

If they've worked for you for two years or more, you'll need to have a fair reason for dismissing them (likely to be misconduct) and go through a proper procedure. This should involve carrying out a reasonable investigation, holding a disciplinary hearing and allowing the employee to appeal. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're out of the woods in terms of an unfair dismissal claim. You'll need to consider whether the lie was serious enough to dismiss them. Lying about qualifications or experience sits at the most serious end of the spectrum whereas other inaccuracies such as the dates of an employee's previous employment or the university they attended are unlikely to be enough unless they are part of a pattern of dishonest behaviour.

Before dismissing an employee you'll need to consider any mitigating factors such as whether they have a plausible explanation, shown remorse, or were acting under extreme stress. If they've worked for you for a long time you'll also need to consider their length of service and their record.

If you decide to dismiss you will need to give notice unless you can show that the employee has fundamentally breached the terms of their contract. In this context, that's likely to be because the employee's dishonesty has damaged the implied duty of trust and confidence. 

2. Contacting the police 

You should notify the police if the employee has committed a criminal offence by working in a role they are not qualified for, but you're under no obligation to notify them in other cases. Possible criminal offences include fraud, obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and misconduct in a public office. Anyone convicted of these offences may also have to repay some of their earnings.

The Crown Prosecution Service will only recommend that someone is charged if they have a realistic prospect of achieving a conviction. 

3. Notifying the regulator 

If your organisation is in a regulated sector such as finance, law, medical, education, insurance etc, you may have a duty to report dishonesty. Generally, employees in these sectors are held to a higher level or probity.

Our newsletters

We publish monthly employment and education newsletters. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list, please let me know.