Lied about GCSEs now facing an pre employment screening

[LadyV79]

Hi all, please dont judge as Im beating myself up about this and always have but I dont have any GCSE's due to childhood trauma and I didnt sit my exams at all.

I left school in 1995 with no qualifications and had a bit of trouble finding employment due to this so started to lie on my CV of having the basic GCSE passes.

I am currently in employment with a Government ran organisation and have been for 6 years but have been offered another job today which Im thrilled about but have been told I have to have a pre employment screening (I think this is more detailed than a regular DBS check) with Security Watchdog and I have to enter my "highest academic qualification" and Im now really really worried this will be checked and have been so upset as I think my job offer will get taken away.

I know lying is a very bad thing to do but I saw no other way to try and get work and now I am so worried everything is going to fall apart and Im going to lose this job opportunity.

Has anyone had any experience either way with the pre employment screening or this company who does it, will they do it? 1995 was a long time ago so I dont even know if my GCSEs will be relevent anymore. I did obtain a Diploma a few years ago from an online course but doubt I can get away with just having that down as my "highest academic qualification". Guys, I dont know what to do and Im in bits over this. Again, please dont be judgemental, I know Ive done wrong but I just wanted work at the end of the day.

Sorry, so many spelling errors in my post, was rushing to post it

Do you mean vetting?

@RoseRedRoseBlue

Do you mean vetting?

The email says "Security Watchdog will be undertaking some employment screening checks that need successfully completing before you can start your new role."

I dont know the difference between vetting or pre employment screening.

If it’s a Government or Civil Service role you will likely be subject to some form of vetting - have a Google, there is loads of info. I just Googled Security Watchdog and it looks like a standard DBS check.

What level is your diploma? Can you look up the equivalent online... for example a level 2 btec first diploma is the equivalent of 4 gcses at grade a-c...so if it's something like this I'd imagine theyd only be interested in checking the validity of your highest level of qualification.

Thanks @RoseRedRoseBlue , I did do a Google search but found varying results from standard stuff to enhanced "they will check the exam board".

Thanks @3littlemonkeys82 my Diploma is a level 3 and is only from an online course site so dont know how important this would be as the subject isnt anything hugely important (its a Customer Service Diploma) :/

I may be wrong but isn't level 3 equivalent to one A-level?

@ImprobablePuffin I just googled this and yes it does say it is.

Could I get away with just putting this down as my "highest academic qualification"?

@LadyV79 a level three qualification is indeed a level equivalent and is certainly higher than gcse

@ZAUK Thank you, Im hoping this may be enough to resolve any issues then, I had no idea a level 3 Diploma was classed as an A level.

Thank you @ImprobablePuffin for the heads up on this!

Good luck with it all 🙂

@RoseRedRoseBlue

Good luck with it all 🙂

Thank you so much @RoseRedRoseBlue xx

If a diploma is your highest qualification put that down, it’s probably only a guide to establish your educational standard.

I think you are getting way too stressed about this. Put you level 3 Diploma which is equivalent to an A level as highest academic achievement. If necessary you could produce this certificate as evidence. Unless you have a criminal record you will pass through this vetting/DBS just fine. I would not put down you have GCSE going forward as you don't so could not provide certificates. A lot of people struggle at school but go on to have successful careers as adults. Hold your head up I feel sure you will get new job.

Do they need basic numeracy and literacy qualifications in the person spec? Although unlikely, they might ask you to request these from the examination board (I had to do this and left school not much later than you)

You have committed fraud and face instant dismissal and prosecution. This is my experience of what happens in such situations.

You claim you got no GCSEs at school because of ‘trauma’, but have done nothing about gaining them in all the time since??

Maths and English GCSE education is free for adults in the UK

In your position I would turn down the new job and come clean to your employer, and hope they are sympathetic. Of course, you know them. I don’t, do I can’t judge what reception you will get.

And get your GCSEs now

Put the diploma down as your highest qualification.

For heavens sake take GCSE's off your CV. You've been in an actual job for 6 years, the new job won't have cared about your GCSE's.

Or go and actually do them now if you think it matters.

GCSE's only matter when you first leave school. I haven't bothered to put them on my CV since I was about 22.

OP, there was always going to be at least one who feels fit to stick the boot in. Pay no attention, while it’s obviously not ideal, that kind of vitriol is uncalled for.

Whenever I have filled in job applications they generally ask for education attainments, and as I was educated abroad I don’t have GCSE’s but have a-level equivalents, which I have obviously declared but of which have ever been checked up on. As they are asking for your highest qualification you can provide proof of that.

You might want to think about whether to obtain a GCSE in maths or English for future reference.

As for PP saying that you should come clean to your employer and that this is a dismissible offence, fraud etc etc etc, get over yourself. The OP has worked in her last job for 6 years if she is doing her job well, and is clearly capable and has managed to obtain another position despite the fact that we are currently in an employer’s market where work is hard to come by, then a GCSE not obtained over 25 years ago is hardly crime of the century.

OP good luck.

@ Comeinoutoftherain it might be worth the OP gaining a GCSE in maths and English at least as a lot of employers do stipulate “needs to be educated to GCSE level in Maths and English,”

@AlternativePerspective

OP, there was always going to be at least one who feels fit to stick the boot in. Pay no attention, while it’s obviously not ideal, that kind of vitriol is uncalled for.

Whenever I have filled in job applications they generally ask for education attainments, and as I was educated abroad I don’t have GCSE’s but have a-level equivalents, which I have obviously declared but of which have ever been checked up on. As they are asking for your highest qualification you can provide proof of that.

You might want to think about whether to obtain a GCSE in maths or English for future reference.

As for PP saying that you should come clean to your employer and that this is a dismissible offence, fraud etc etc etc, get over yourself. The OP has worked in her last job for 6 years if she is doing her job well, and is clearly capable and has managed to obtain another position despite the fact that we are currently in an employer’s market where work is hard to come by, then a GCSE not obtained over 25 years ago is hardly crime of the century.

OP good luck.

Get real. She lied on her application form. Nothing to do with ‘putting the boot in’. Just a statement of reality. Lie on application form = instant dismissal, and possible further action

Those if you on this thread that don’t realise this is considered serious fraud are not going the OP any favours, nor anyone else who reads this thread and decided lying on an application form is a safe thing to do

Except most people don’t actually even declare their GCSE’s on an application form. We’re not exactly talking about a fictitious medical degree here are we, we’re talking about a couple of bits of paper which would be important if the OP didn’t have higher levels of qualification to a-level standard, which actually she does.

The OP needs to omit any mention of GCSE from her application forms in future because these are not relevant, but talk of coming clean to an employer of six years when she has clearly been doing a job competently for that period is ridiculous in the extreme.

And nobody has said that the OP is right to lie on an application form. People have said that she needs to not mention her GCSE’s in future. But pre-screening aren’t asking for proof of her GCSE’s, they’re asking for her highest qualification, which is an a-level equivalent.

No, the OP shouldn’t have lied on any application, but suggestion that she should be instantly be dismissed from a long-term job, possibly be rendered unemployable because of said dismissal, and charged with serious fraud is overkill in the extreme.

In this instance a simple “This was a really bad idea because if an employer had found out you could be in serious trouble) would have sufficed in this instance.

@AlternativePerspective

Except most people don’t actually even declare their GCSE’s on an application form. We’re not exactly talking about a fictitious medical degree here are we, we’re talking about a couple of bits of paper which would be important if the OP didn’t have higher levels of qualification to a-level standard, which actually she does.

The OP needs to omit any mention of GCSE from her application forms in future because these are not relevant, but talk of coming clean to an employer of six years when she has clearly been doing a job competently for that period is ridiculous in the extreme.

I agree, telling her employer would be a huge risk, she could be dismissed. Or she could be supported to get the qualifications. I don’t know. She’s the best judge of her employer’s likely response.

However not telling her employer is also a huge risk. There could be a foot check if qualifications at any time. I’ve been with employers who have done this more than once. Sometimes certificates have been viewed 3 or 4 times in different years. And yes, I have seen what’s happened to the frauds

*spot check

@0None0

You have committed fraud and face instant dismissal and prosecution. This is my experience of what happens in such situations.

You claim you got no GCSEs at school because of ‘trauma’, but have done nothing about gaining them in all the time since??

Maths and English GCSE education is free for adults in the UK

In your position I would turn down the new job and come clean to your employer, and hope they are sympathetic. Of course, you know them. I don’t, do I can’t judge what reception you will get.

And get your GCSEs now

Well if it isn’t the stasi.