Employee lied to get job

[Crossemployer]

I run a local pre-school. One of my employees told me she had all the necessary qualifications to work in the preschool. She was hired pending copies of certificates which never appeared.

We have done some digging at the college where she qualified and have been told that she never finished the course so does not have the necessary qualification.

She is still in her probation period so removing her from the setting is no problem, but I have 2 questions:

Am I obliged to pay her for this month she has worked? If so, at what rate? And what about the fact I paid her last month? (She receives higher than minimum wage)

Do I involve the police? Is this an offence?

I think you have to pay her as per the contract ie what she ahs worked plus notice unless her offer was conditional on producing the documentary evidence. Really it is your fault for not having that in hand before she started , ie if something had happened and it was important for your staffing ratios in the eyes of Ofsted then you would be at fault, but she has behaved fraudulently to you and college by making false claims .

It was definitely conditional upon her completing her probation period successfully and producing her certificates if qualifications. The manager who hired her has just left, and I'm left with the fall out.

And I do not have to pay her notice. She is withing her probationary period.

This is why they need to bring certificates to job interviews, and people can't start having not provided them. We've had someone before lie about the qualifications they'd got. We withdrew the job offer, which was made pending the receipt of the certificates, but not before the candidate had handed her notice in at her old job.

It's not a legal offence, and I would pay her for the work she's done until now.

Sorry, I hadn't realised you were picking up someone else's mess. A useful example for future reference, but for now she can just leave today (has she already gone) and be paid for her work until her last day at work (today or yesterday).

Its called pecuniary advantage and it most certainly is a criminal offence and akin to fraud - court view it very badly especially in positions of trust and in those with responsibilities for minors. If you have her cv or application form with this on you could if you wish go to the police. I would pay her for work done at the lowest rate as the higher rate is only paid because of the qualifications. You owe her no notice or explanation.

Thanks mellow, I had a hunch it was fraud, but couldn't find anything online.

Am embarrassed by whole incident, it's not how this preschool operates. Thankfully this worker was always supervised due to having no certificates, but it doesn't detract from the fact that she LIED!

Will have a think over weekend whether I contact the police or not. Wwyd?
Are there regulations whereby employers cannot give details of employees out if fraud suspected?

I would make sure everything is documented and her dismissal letter is very clear. I would probably not go to the police.

It is possible that she has committed a crime. It is possible that she may obtain work elsewhere with minors using the same deceit. Imagine how you would feel if something bad happened and you had not reported her to the police? The police will investigate and decide whether (with the CPS) there is an offence to be tried. If you report her you have fulfilled your obligations and hopefully prevented a future problem.

If you contact the police and they "have words" with her there is a hope she won't be so easy to lie to the next employer. I would always contact the police on that basis.

I would contact the police. It's "obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception" and is charged under s.16 of the Theft Act. If she is willing to do it to you she will do it to other workplaces and leaves them vulnerable to all sorts of things the least of which is invalid insurance.

You should pay her for the work done (she has after all done those hours) but she may be ordered to repay some or all of the money she has earned as it was earned by fraud. It's less likely where there are wages for actual hours worked though.

I agree with MellowAutumn and ladyjulian, it is a deception offence and your obligations are not the same as if the employee proved to be a 'poor fit' during the probation period.

As for reporting it to the police, it would depend if this was her first offence or if she has worked elsewhere and not been caught out. Certainly, any dismissal letter should contain the information that the employee has possibly committed a criminal offence and could be reported to the police.

As it's a position involving children, I'd be more inclined to report as she may have the opportunity to accept a caution which will show up on any CRB check in the future and therefore reduce the possibility of this happening again (in that CRB is rarely overlooked, but qualifications and references more likely to be overlooked).

Why would anyone take someone on without proof of qualifications? What about their CRB was this also pending? Legislation is there for a reason, they could have been anyone :(

Its an offence. There was a case years ago of a student midwife forging paperwork so it looked like she had the required number of births, etc when she didnt.

She qualified and got a job. It was then discovered and she was charged with the pecunary advantage thingy. She got a jail sentence.

here

As others have said

1. You have to pay her for the days she's worked plus payment in lieu of any accrued but untaken annual leave. Payment is at her normal rate.

1. You don't have to pay her notice monies since you will be dismissing her summarily for gross misconduct.

1. It is a criminal offence, obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception, (but I doubt the police will be particularly interested). I'd report her though to lessen the likelihood of her going off and doing the same thing again. It might be worth letting the LADO (local authority designated officer) know since she may be a risk if she is trying to use deception to work with children without being qualified. Did you complete the vetting and barring checks?