Husband lied on CV - offered job but they want a reference!

[PeanutyButtery]

DH lost his job last February and he's finally been offered a job back in his field. He's been working in a supermarket for the last six months.

He left the supermarket job off his CV because it's not relevant and instead put that he's been working as a consultant for an organisation (prestigious well-known company that's relevant to the new role) from last March until now. Problem is that he won a tender to provide that organisation with services, signed a contract and everything but they never actually sent him any work.

HR called this week to say that they are offering him the job and does he accept. He said yes and then they asked for references. He gave two people from his previous employer but HR replied asking specifically for a reference from X organisation as it's his "current employer".

He replied to say that since that consultancy has ended, HR can contact the company he is working for right now (which is a freelance client he has actually been working for). But he did put the email address for a contact person at X organisation.

I'm so worried they are going to contact X organisation who will say sorry but this guy never worked for us, and that they'll rescind the offer (it's only an oral offer anyway). DH doesn't seem so worried. He was convinced they wouldn't contact references, but actually his previous employer and freelance client have both said they've already been contacted.

Is there anything he can do to fix this situation? It's been two days and nothing... they contacted the references immediately who both replied that same day

The only way your husband will stop lying is when he gets caught and it has a negative impact on him personally. I hope his future employer does catch him out and it teaches him a lesson.

I've employed someone (in a charity role) who rearranged her cv by leaving out a job where she failed her probation and extended the jobs round it to cover. She rang me to explain after being offered the post and we employed her but warily. She was fine at her job and it gradually receded from everyone's minds. I think your partner should fess up, it was a silly but understandable mistake and if he's honest now it's to his credit. Good luck.

I’m sorry for you....but I’m also sorry for the other applicants who didn’t get the job, but didn’t falsify their cv.

Yes that CV has definitely been deleted now.

He applied for this job a while ago. He applied to loads of jobs around that time so he's possibly going to have to deal with this a few times. Maybe now he'll learn to listen to my advice...

He's going to have to send a revised CV and let them decide if they still want to interview him I think. He's going to have to figure out how to explain it though. Some good ideas, thank you.

Then he's going to have to figure out what to put on the revised CV: a six month gap and then the supermarket job, or just a 13-month gap.

Do you think it's honest to put part-time freelancer for the 13 months? He's done all the freelance work he's been offered during that time but it has been sporadic

Op I put ad hoc freelance if it’s sporadic over a time period

I have a long CV with gaps due to doing other stuff so have got used to making sure it’s not a barrier

I’ve just had some interviews after three year break as I had something very recent which helped

And I don’t put the unrelated work

I had a 12 month gap after I was made redundant and I couldn't find any work due to Brexit. I had a short term (3 month) contract in the middle of the 12 months which was semi-relevant but in a completely different industry. I included that but for the remaining 9 months just wrote "career break following redundancy". If I was asked what I did during the break, I said I was job hunting plus doing voluntary work (which I was - and could prove if required).

Just tell the truth. And don't write freelancing if he was available to freelance but didn't actually do any work. When you say sporadic, how much work did he actually do?

Never a good idea to lie on a CV, most employers would either withdraw the offer or sack you. Quite right too, who wants a dishonest employee.

OP, on the new CV, can he identify and date when he was approved by the company that work didn't emerge from, then put the overall time period of the recent 13 months and next to that period, note it was the period of Covid and spent on a mixture of discovering the contract he had been approved for wouldn't come off due to Covid, freelance work and work in retail. It might not be necessary to pin down exact dates and lengths of each of these if he can put a blanket 13 month period for them all. It might not be possible if he's filling in a specific application form which doesn't allow it, but his own CV can be phrased how he chooses. The employer can ask him further about the different elements or when they happened if they want to. He would then need to be precise and honest about the amount of time spent in each.

Yes, sending a new CV to the one he's been called to interview for now will be best. I guess he will need to send a covering letter with an explanation and leave it up to them to decide if they still want to interview him. There's no way to fully explain it as simply out of date because he dated the lie CV up to the current time. The best he can do is to say he produced it at the point of expecting the contract work he had been approved to come off and listed the tasks he had been expecting to do, and then added end dates very quickly when applying to multiple jobs without due care. He will have to say that he is sending an updated CV which reflects the last year, in the interests of being open and hopes that they will still consider interviewing him. At this point he might be binned, but better that than lying further.

They will look at it and they will feel doubtful about the fact that he is someone who clearly did falsify their CV, but they might feel it's worth giving a chance to someone who has now chosen to be more open and honest. It's the best you can have in this situation, to avoid being asked about the fictions job at interview and hen having to admit to lying which will look awful, or worse still lying further and finding himself again with the reference issue.

The only other (and probably best option) is to withdraw from these jobs he has applied for with faked CV. Needing to send another honest CV will involve some truth twisting to explain it away at minimum, or barefaced lies to justify it. In itself it raises suspicion, although it will be necessary to do this. If he can write these off and start from scratch with honesty, he will avoid this difficult issue and be able to apply for jobs and go for interviews honestly.

If there are a number in the pipeline with the fraudulent CV he needs to come up with a plan about whT to do generally, as he might be called for other interviews.

What a shame! Sounds like he'd have been a good candidate for these jobs but he has shot himself in the foot really. Salvaging with honesty rather than lies should be the way forward now.

A 23 year old once lied to me about her A Levels. She said she had 3 A grades a s I could tell by speaking to her she didn’t. I chased up her results and was proven correct. But I liked her. She’s now a Director.
So they won’t necessarily rescind

Oh dear. I used to be an employment adviser - I saw a fair bit of this and it can end badly. What is a little bit of embellishment to one person can easily be regarded as a downright lie by another. If a job applicant lies on a CV and it comes to light during the take up of references or other investigations, the employer can rescind the job offer. If it’s discovered after the position has been taken up, the employer is perfectly within his rights to terminate that employee if the lie is sufficient to put their ability to do the job in doubt, or be significant enough to affect the implied duty trust and confidentiality between employer and employee.

It doesn’t sound as though the former is the case as your DH got the contract, so presumably was qualified to do the work, they just didn’t send him any - but the employer could still rescind/dismiss on the latter grounds that the lie breached trust. After two years continuous employment it becomes more difficult to dismiss someone on any of these grounds as they have the right to an unfair dismissal hearing, but it can be done and I’ve seen a few upheld decisions. I’ve also seen a throwaway remark come back to bite someone - one client came back to me after losing his job after only a few weeks. He had mentioned casually in conversation that he had worked for a particular firm, forgetting that he had neglected to put this on his CV - as it turned out because he had a fairly bad disciplinary record and didn’t want them contacted for references. It cost him his job.

How you handle it depends on how he’s termed things on his CV - has he said that he actually did any work for this company, or did he just include the fact that he won the contract ? If he’s embellished and made it look as though he actually worked for them, it’s going to be difficult to backtrack. If not, could you not approach the new employer, maybe couch it in terms of a ‘misunderstanding’ and explain that although he was technically employed as a consultant - and more importantly, qualified to be so - he didn’t actually undertake any work.

Apologise for the ‘confusion’ and maybe come clean about working in a supermarket. The pandemic has made things incredibly difficult for a lot of people and the fact that your DH has taken up any work to support himself and his family instead of relying on benefits, is to his credit and hopefully the employer will see it that way.

Whatever you do, DON’T tell any more lies - you’ll just dig a bigger hole.

This is probably obvious, but if it turns out OK and he’s still working in the supermarket, tell him not to give notice until he gets the job offer in writing. Good luck.

This is probably obvious, but if it turns out OK and he’s still working in the supermarket, tell him not to give notice until he gets the job offer in writing. How will a job offer in writing make any difference?

@Pinkraven. A verbal job offer, although legally binding on the face of it, is not a contract until the employee has satisfied whatever conditions the employer has placed on the offer - for instance if it’s subject to satisfactory references or a medical examination. It can be rescinded so standard advice was don’t give notice to current employer until you have received something in writing to confirm the offer - a candidate can also ask the employer to confirm the offer in writing. The OP’s current situation is kind of an example of this. If her DH had given consent for references to be taken up without giving it much thought, the job offer could have been rescinded as a result.

He lied . He deserves not to get the job tbh . Imagine if I applied honestly and he got it because of a lie . We get taught this basic principle at school . Don't lie . Be honest

@PeanutyButtery

Yes that CV has definitely been deleted now.

He applied for this job a while ago. He applied to loads of jobs around that time so he's possibly going to have to deal with this a few times. Maybe now he'll learn to listen to my advice...

He's going to have to send a revised CV and let them decide if they still want to interview him I think. He's going to have to figure out how to explain it though. Some good ideas, thank you.

Then he's going to have to figure out what to put on the revised CV: a six month gap and then the supermarket job, or just a 13-month gap.

Do you think it's honest to put part-time freelancer for the 13 months? He's done all the freelance work he's been offered during that time but it has been sporadic

Because of covid a gap in freelance isn't as much of an issue. As you said the main reason he didn't want a gap was because in his industry people need to keep up to date, can he just in any covering letter or whatever make it clear what he has done to do so? Even if it's not paid work?

The 13months freelance, I'd just mark it down as that.
He wasn't doing anything else in that time he just didn't have a lot of work as long as he can say what work he has being doing. They don't need to know it was a couple of hours a week.

If they ask why he wants to give up freelance, I wasn't able to get enough work to make it viable.

[quote pam290358]@Pinkraven. A verbal job offer, although legally binding on the face of it, is not a contract until the employee has satisfied whatever conditions the employer has placed on the offer - for instance if it’s subject to satisfactory references or a medical examination. It can be rescinded so standard advice was don’t give notice to current employer until you have received something in writing to confirm the offer - a candidate can also ask the employer to confirm the offer in writing. The OP’s current situation is kind of an example of this. If her DH had given consent for references to be taken up without giving it much thought, the job offer could have been rescinded as a result.[/quote]
Sorry still confused. A written job offer will me made subject to satisfactory references, as would a verbal offer.

Bit of further information in case it’s useful to anyone.

A job candidate has to have verbally accepted a job offer to form a legally binding verbal contract - if, for example, he’s lucky enough to have more than one offer and says he needs time to consider, the employer can rescind the offer at any time before formal acceptance, with no recourse.

If a candidate believes an employer has illegally rescinded an offer, he can sue for damages, but amount of any compensation is usually restricted to the wages which would have been earned during the contractual notice period under the new contract. So probably wouldn’t be substantial amount, but could be enough to affect certain benefit entitlements.

If you have lied on a CV and the employer rescinds a job offer or dismisses you, you will no longer have the right to an unfair dismissal hearing.

If the lie is told for the intention of securing the job (falsifying qualifications etc), it’s fraud and you can be prosecuted. In serious cases it carries a jail term.

An employer could sue for damages if they suffered financial loss as a result of employing/having to dismiss someone based on a falsified CV. It’s commonplace for employers to use recruitment agencies, which are expensive, so it wouldn’t be difficult to prove the cost to the employer.

Covid19 is not a valid reason for an employer to rescind a job offer and a candidate can still sue for damages - a tribunal would expect an employer to reasonably consider the feasibility - financially and otherwise - of taking on new staff during the pandemic.

@Pinkraven. Only going on my experiences while working in the field. Where a job offer was made verbally, sometimes at second interviews or, more usually, afterwards over the phone, if it was a conditional offer, the employer would make it clear to the applicant that the offer was dependent on satisfying those conditions. Once the conditions had been met, usually the offer was then confirmed in writing. I had more than a few employed clients eager to give notice to a current employer, based on that first contact. The fact that it was conditional seemed to escape them in their excitement and I had to point out that they should not, under any circumstances, hand in their notice until the job offer was confirmed because if, for any reason, the conditions were not met, the employer could retract the offer and they would be left unemployed. This is what’s basically happening to the OP’s DH, so the advice is don’t hand in your notice to your current employer until the matter is settled and the offer is confirmed. I agree with you though, these days that may not necessarily be in writing until the applicant starts work and signs a contract of employment.

If they employ him and then they find out he can be sacked for gross misconduct. Either tell the truth and why he wrote what he did or advise him to withdraw his acceptance for the role. @PeanutyButtery

www.cv-library.co.uk/career-advice/cv/dangers-lying-in-your-cv/

Taken from the website above:

What happens if get caught lying in your CV
Maybe you’re tempted to tell a little fib to help your application stand out. Well unfortunately, this is likely to backfire. Here’s just some events that might happen if you get caught lying in your CV:
The employer may immediately reject your job application
They might also blacklist your name
If they find out while you’re on the job it could result in immediate dismissal
Humiliation
Prosecution
In extreme cases, even imprisonment
It’s a sad fact that many people lie in their job applications throughout their careers and get away with it. Some may even boast to close friends about what they’ve done. It’s definitely not a habit we encourage and it goes without saying that if you get caught out then you’re in big trouble.

@Lockdownbear

The 13months freelance, I'd just mark it down as that. He wasn't doing anything else in that time he just didn't have a lot of work as long as he can say what work he has being doing. They don't need to know it was a couple of hours a week.

If they ask why he wants to give up freelance, I wasn't able to get enough work to make it viable.

But I think the suggestion of ah-hoc freelancing as made upthread is a good one. Rather than another lie, implying a full 13 months of freelancing. Interspersed with the supermarket role, which shows DH was prepared to keen, willing and enthusiastic to embrace other roles during a very challenging time.

Just a thought - but won't his P45 have his last employer, as in his supermarket job?

If he goes to a large company then will just to payroll and no need for alarm, but if it's a small company and HR also does payroll may be more tricky.

@ilovemydogandmrobama2

Just a thought - but won't his P45 have his last employer, as in his supermarket job?

If he goes to a large company then will just to payroll and no need for alarm, but if it's a small company and HR also does payroll may be more tricky.

You can hand in a P46 instead of a P45

@HenGab4. All good points. Most people wouldn’t think of lying about professional qualifications such as medical or legal, which carries serious penalties, but they don’t give much thought to telling what they see is a white lie, or ‘embellishment’. Even further down the scale, if such an embellishment means you’re not properly qualified for the job offered, even if you escape prosecution, an employer can still sue you for damages if he suffers financial loss, damage to his reputation or harm to a client or customer as a result. You can even be held liable for the costs if an employer has used a recruitment agency to hire you. Not worth it.

"Communal toilets are a particular area of concern wrt the virus."

You can hand in nothing, but you might end up on an emergency tax code for a bit.