New employee is a fake, where to go from here?

[londonnotlangdon]

It's a large organisation and I just had to send off her paperwork, passport, things like that

She was given the job after her second interview last week.

However, she has emailed me these documents (fine), and her birth certificate says born in September 2002?

That makes her 19?

This is a problem because, for example, her CV says she was an Executive Assistant to a Director in 2018? When she would've been in school?!

I've asked HR, who haven't replied properly, I've asked them to call. But someone replied to my email of concern with 'so you don't want this new me ever of staff? Why not?'

What can actually be done about this?

I'm not the OP but I'm a hiring manager in a completely different industry and while our job descriptions do ask for degree level qualifications, we always look at people without qualifications as long as they have similar experience. Job descriptions often ask for things that aren't strictly required.

Are you sure you are not reading date of ISSUE on her birth cert, rather than her date of birth?

A CV would normally list job descriptions along with dates, have you seen the CV. Call her and ask for an explanation.

So obviously each department in that company will work differently but for example the email she gave is '[email protected] and their other contact emails are things like [email protected]

so the more you dig the more discrepancies you find

email hr and ask them what you should do about the discrepancies with the date of birth and CV time line not corresponding & is there further checks regarding the right to work in U.K. that need to be carried out due to due diligence

then you e covered your back

No I'm sure... and her passport says the same birth date

She did offer her licence actually but I said I didn't need it at the time, and I didn't. As I had the ID I needed

This sounds really tricky. 2/3 big companies she’s worked for have gone under and she’s quite young. It would raise a few red flags to me as well. I would email HR so you’ve got a paper trail. It might become clear when she starts that she lacks the experience.

At first I thought maybe she did work experience at these companies but the more I read your updates.... sounds like she's faked all the jobs on her CV.

The email thing sounds distinctly dodgy. Can you phone the company that is still in existence, using a public phone number rather than any number the applicant has given?

But even if you don’t focus on the education, there is usually a requirement set out in the job description for “must be educated to <insert level>.”

To the poster asking if £40k is the starting salary in London these days, I bloody wish. 😀

OK.

1. You need to write directly to the referees and and ask them to respond directly to you. You need to ask for dates of employment, job title, salary, reason for leaving. It should triangulate with the CV. You must ask her for names and addresses as well as emails.

1. Ask for copies of the qualification certificates.

1. You need to see the original passport and verify it as a true likeness.

1. The offer should be on the basis of conditional upon satisfactory pre-employment clearances.

If the facts don't add up, the offer needs to be withdrawn.

Lessons learnt: Next time, passport (or other ID check) and qual certs need to be submitted at the interview stage before an offer is made.

Finally are there any liabilities if you withdraw the offer and what she has told you may be true. For example has she resigned from another job?

I'm just baffled how she comes across. I'd place her from voice and mannerisms alone as 35+. Looks around 27/28

She has the best gift of the gab I've ever seen!

You say you were emailed the documents. Ask her to bring them in so you can see them.

Does she say when she got GCSEs? How does that tie in with the timeline?

Yes,
8 GCSE's grade A*-C. Doesn't give a date

But neither does mine actually and H has extensive professional experience and removed his qualifications altogether!

If you go to Whois.net and put in those domain names - it should list those company’s office hq. If it doesn’t the plot thickens!

And you say she looks far older than 19,more like 30? That's what I find most odd.

well if she has a great gift of the gab and you were impressed with her, what is the issue?
HR surely are the ones doing the donkey work?

She's not an actor rather than an office worker is she? Her real skill is playing a role and wearing the costume/make up etc to portray a role.

Or an undercover TV reporter? She works for a company making a documentary from the inside although you'd hope they'd be better at getting her 'story' right.

The first one you say has folded and do you can’t check the reference. Not suspicious normally but in this case it is.

I agree with PP you need to speak to her as this could be fraud, or a very simple explanation.

So, having interviewed her, are you now concerned that she won’t be able to do the job?

From your update I would be having a call with the 3rd ref from the company that still exists

Sounds like ID correct& valid but the CV listings of previous jobs is made up. Could be that her mother, aunt ECT with same name did those jobs? But because 2/3 no longer exist I think it looks like she made them up knowing could not contact company any longer.

It’s not about whether she has the right to work at this point. It’s about the fact she’s a liar and a fake, and on that basis I wouldn’t be hiring her.

A simple “we’ve checked out your references and they don’t add up therefore we’re withdrawing the offer” should suffice.

The CV as it stands is 100% not possible ergo she’s a liar and will be a liability to the company, you’ll likely be sacking her before the end of her probation anyway.

Ahh ok I missed an update. This is all so odd.

Are you a well known organisation? Could she be someone sent in undercover? Or to test out your security checks or security in general and how well you do employment checks?