What to do when CV fraud is detected

CV fraud is becoming increasingly common but there are a range of steps employers can take once it is discovered, says employment law specialist Peta Tumpey from Hunt & Hunt.

"Workplace fraud is a very real problem in Australia and the consensus among specialists in the field is that not enough employers are protecting themselves sufficiently by deploying fraud detection and prevention strategies," said Tumpey.

She said the two most common types of fraud are CV fraud (in which people misrepresent particular qualifications in order to secure a job) and timesheet fraud, which occurs when employees claim overtime or hours they have not worked.

Timesheet fraud is more prevalent in industries requiring shift work and irregular working hours.

CV fraud, where candidates lie about tertiary education or past work experience, had become more common in recent years as tertiary qualifications became more widespread and important in recruitment.

She said good background checking could reduce the likelihood of CV fraud and should include:

• full past employment details stretching back as far as 10 years;
• details of qualifications (including sighting original degrees, certificates etc);
• personal identity details, including any changes in name or address;
• credit rating details; and
• references from previous employers (verified by landline rather than mobile phone).

What to do when CV fraud is detected after the appointment

One option is dismissal, because employees engaging in CV fraud had "breached their duty of faith and honesty" to their employer.

However, if their work performance was adequate, employers should discuss the issue with them and note it on their file.

"It can be a sticky situation," said Tumpey, but employers should always raise the matter with the employee.

She said in cases where recruitment companies failed to adequately reference candidates, employers may have recourse to a legal action against them. However, this would depend on the terms of business of the contract between the employer and recruitment company.

In the Courts

Work Choices amendments announced

Assisting Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey recently announced a range of proposed changes to the federal Work Choices legislation. The changes to be made by regulation as soon as possible are intended to clarify points of the legislation, and remove some unintended consequences from the wide-ranging new Act.

The five main changes:

• protect redundancy entitlements for 12 months after the termination of an agreement, unless a new agreement replaces the previous one;
• provide that leave payments be calculated on basis of ordinary hours worked (not incorporating overtime or other extra payments);
• provide a "default right" for employers to stand down employees if work was not available due to circumstances beyond the control of employers;
• allow employers and employees to agree to cash out some accrued personal/carers’ leave provided a "reserve safety net" of 15 days accrued leave is maintained; and
• streamline record keeping requirements so that employers won't have to keep records of all hours worked for employees on fixed wages, although payslip and superannuation records will still be required

Courtesy of shortlistonline.com.au and CareersMultiList