Is it illegal to hide that you were fired from a voluntary position?

[sunshineandstarsgirl]

I was volunteering in the office of a charity for the past 6 months. Today they told me although I am committed and dedicated, I am not confident enough to do this particular role.
I am gonna start applying for receptionist /admin jobs. If I get asked in the job interview why I stopped volunteering, should I be honest? My friend told me if I am honest, I won't find another job.

I read online that in the UK you can go to prison if you lie on your CV. Feeling scared.

Me getting fired from the volunteering came as a shock to me as I did get positive feedback from the same person in the past.

That's fairly shit volunteer management.
Did they recommend other roles or organisations you might be better suited to? Did they offer you any training to build confidence?
Try not to take it too personally.

Are you going to rely on them for a reference?

You didn't get fired. You stopped volunteering there (because they asked you to) because you wanted to invest time looking for a new paid position.

You don't even have to mention it on your CV unless you want to.

If asked just say you wanted something different or to use your skills elsewhere. Six months is a reasonable period

A friend told you that you can go to prison if you lie on your CV!!! LOL. What horse shit.

Who told you that you’ll go to prison for lying on your CV? I mean, really… grow up a bit.

You weren't fired because (presumably) you didn't have a contract.

No-one will expect you to explain on a CV why you stopped working in a voluntary role.

Is this why prisons are overcrowded and don't have room for all the murders and rapists?!

Unless you were doing something actually illegal like stealing from them, I wouldn't say you were sacked. It ended by mutual agreement.

You got made redundant. ( you were fired ) 😂
Seriously just say you decided to take your skills that you learned into paid work .

I mean just this. Volunteering is your own time you don't have to tell any future employers anything. Good luck In your job search.

I don't see where the original post says this... she says that she read it online.

OP, please don't worry about that, you certainly won't get sent to prison.

This! Op your friend is either having a laugh or isn't very bright!

It’s highly unlikely you’ll get asked why you stopped volunteering, but if you do…

”It was a temporary volunteering role which was ideal to gain some experience for my CV. It helped me to develop some excellent skills which I think would be needed for this position”. And lead the conversation on to talk about what you learned while there.

It’s the truth, no volunteering role is permanent.

Op, ask them if they will give you a good reference, if so just put it on your cv and say left workload wasn’t required any more,due to a restructure.

You're right. I skim read. Regardless - it's still horseshit!

I'd probably waffle that I'd volunteered for a set project there and once completed my skill set was no longer required.

Talk to the charity, realistically they will give you a good reference, you volunteered for 6 months and they said you were committed and dedicated.

you haven’t been fired, if asked just say you moved on as your job search began.

It's not complete horseshit- if you lied on your CV and said that you were a qualified surgeon (when you had had no medical training whatsoever), then got a job in the NHS and actually performed surgery, this might land you in prison.

I assume the OPs case is entirely different. So no risk OP.

@thecatneuterer Agreed! 🫠

Even impersonating a doctor, although a specific criminal offence, won't land you in jail, it's a summary offence so a fine only! Although I suspect if you somehow got as far as operating on someone and did them some harm I guess that would consist GBH or similar (perhaps a lawyer can confirm?). As an NHS HR person though I can say you'd have to do a bit more than knock up a good fake CV to get let loose with the scalpel 😂, never say never as it has happened but we do check qualifications and GMC registration etc at least!

OP I really don't think you need to worry, if everyone who was economic with the truth on their CV landed up in prison there'd be no-one left, including most of the NHS, financial sector, current government and the prison service itself! Just don't mention it if you're worried.

@maxelly Yes GBH, but also a variety of fraud offences. I am surprised you don't know this case if you are NHS HR: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/15/fake-doctor-zholia-alemi-nhs-guilty-fraud

Sorry yes I do know that case. I was being light hearted but of course there's a whole range of associated criminal charges that could happen from the (thankfully rare) occasions 'fake doctors' or other healthcare staff comes up. But really that's a million miles away from what OP's talking about so let's not derail...

Thank you everyone for your kind messages. Feeling better now.
Just afraid what if I get kicked out of the next volunteer placement too? Maybe I am being paranoid.
If I don't get a job soon, I am gonna volunteer in a different organization.

You werent fired - no misconduct or contract etc.

If you want to be honest and are specifically asked why you stopped volunteering you could phrase it as "I enjoyed the role and had excellent feedback on my hard work and commitment, but it wasn't the right fit for me. I think it helped me develop my skills in [whatever] which will be useful as a [the role your interviewing for].

The going to prison bit - this would only come into play in scenarios such as you falsely claimed to be a doctor , didn't have your qualifications checked and started seeing patients and prescribing drugs.