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Original poster

Qualified Professional - Turns Out They’re Not Actually Qualified

26 replies

BarryTown9 · 25/02/2022 09:40

A member of my team a lot senior to me has turned out not to have the qualification required for the job.
They’ve been in post 12 years (a long time before I joined), and had been in a similar post for over 10 years previously.

They are claiming they did an older, equivalent qualification. They have now been suspended.

Is this really serious or just the admin issue they are claiming ? What is likely to happen to them ? Will there be fallout for others, such as HR or hiring Managers ?

OP posts:
InTheMiddle23 · 25/02/2022 09:44

Curious to know if this person did their job well for those 12 years?

AtomicBlondeRose · 25/02/2022 09:46

It really depends on the job and the qualification. I’ve known teachers with years of experience still get sacked and banned from teaching due to lying about having QTS (trained but never properly completed the NQT year then faked it to look like they had) - had been doing the job well for years and held in good esteem but still a serious issue.

SlipperyLizard · 25/02/2022 09:47

I think it will probably be taken seriously, due to potential dishonesty at the recruitment stage. Yes, 12 years ago, but I think most employers would feel they had no choice but to make an example.

I’d probably expect them to be dismissed, but perhaps given the opportunity to resign to save face all round.

LondonQueen · 25/02/2022 09:51

Yes it really is quite serious, unless the older equivalent qualification turns out to be true. They will most likely be dismissed. The manager in my old department who was sacked for faking a finance degree. Worked out well for me as I got seconded!

purplesequins · 25/02/2022 09:51

depends on if there is a legal requirement for qualification/accreditation or 'just' the role description.

either way it's dishonest and grounds for dislipinary procedures at the very least.

Original poster
BarryTown9 · 25/02/2022 10:08

Similar role to Auditor - within Finance anyway. Our company has the qualifications as essential on all JDs.
They’ve done a good job it seems, no complaints that I know of.
If it was a genuine mistake on their part (thinking the best of them), I just feel they’ve been let down to be honest by others who should have checked.

OP posts:
Queenkarm · 25/02/2022 10:17

It is fraud and could lead to a criminal conviction. Also if not qualified to work in finance all the previous clients could sue the company. It is extremely serious and will damage the reputation of the company when word gets out.

EBearhug · 25/02/2022 10:23

We've had people sacked for it (in tech), after a similar length of time, partly because HR was going through some sort of review of such things. It's the lying that is the bug problem, as for most of our tech roles, qualifications are a nice-to-have rather than essential to do the job.

EBearhug · 25/02/2022 10:23

*big problem

PineappleWilson · 25/02/2022 10:23

I've only known of this where the person was applying for a job, had been offered it and then couldn't show the required certificate. Job offer was withdrawn. I'd expect this person to be sacked unless they do indeed have an equivalent qualification and a good reason not to have the required version. I'd expect questions to be asked about why this wasn't picked up at the recruitment stage tbh.

Heytheredemons · 25/02/2022 10:25

If auditor in practice, you have to legally hold various qualifications to practice, sign off audit reports, supervise junior members, and provide training, etc. Poor form on your company's part to not have that checked prior to offering them a position

MrsBertBibby · 25/02/2022 10:28

On top of everything else, I imagine it negates the firm's indemnity insurance.

So they are on the hook for every claim that may arise in relation to his work.

Ouch.

ANameChangeAgain · 25/02/2022 10:28

Similar role to Auditor - within Finance anyway. the company could have got into serious trouble for this.

user1497207191 · 25/02/2022 10:32

@BarryTown9

Similar role to Auditor - within Finance anyway. Our company has the qualifications as essential on all JDs. They’ve done a good job it seems, no complaints that I know of. If it was a genuine mistake on their part (thinking the best of them), I just feel they’ve been let down to be honest by others who should have checked.
Not sure why you think the employer should have to check the honesty of the applicant? It's one of those things where you assume the applicant is being honest - most application forms have a declaration for the applicant to sign to say the application is honest and truthful.

I think it comes down to whether the applicant genuinely thought his qualifications were equivalent or whether he just took a flyer hoping for the best, i.e. was there any intent to deceive?

Justkeeppedaling · 25/02/2022 10:36

I'm intrigued to know how the "error" came to light after all this time.

But, it is a sackable offence, at the least - could be fraud, especially given the nature of the company and the role.

AtLeastPretendToCare · 25/02/2022 10:37

If they lied about their qualifications upon joining or have been holding themselves out this is really serious. Yes the employer should have validated what they were told upon joining but still onus is on the individual.

The only real mitigation I can see is if this is a scenario where roles morphed over time from one where the role didn’t need qualification or legacy qualification was Ok to one where everyone must have the new one it and management were not fully clear about the change in requirements. But even then the employee should have been transparent.

Justkeeppedaling · 25/02/2022 10:37

I don't have a degree, but I do have a "degree equivalent" qualification - I make this clear on my CV.

123ZYX · 25/02/2022 10:38

@Heytheredemons

If auditor in practice, you have to legally hold various qualifications to practice, sign off audit reports, supervise junior members, and provide training, etc. Poor form on your company's part to not have that checked prior to offering them a position
This isn't quite correct. So long as the person responsible for the audit (RI/ senior statutory auditor) holds the right qualification, no one else in the team needs to. So, although normally audit firms only recruit qualified people, there's no legal requirement for this, even up to senior manager level (I.e. everyone except the person signing the audit report).

However, lying about having the qualification would be a serious issue and, if the person is a student member of ACCA/ ICAEW, they would almost certainly face disciplinary action from ACCA/ ICAEW as well as their employer

user1497207191 · 25/02/2022 10:42

@Justkeeppedaling

I'm intrigued to know how the "error" came to light after all this time.

But, it is a sackable offence, at the least - could be fraud, especially given the nature of the company and the role.

If it's a regulated industry/employer under the Financial Services Acts/Financial conduct Acts, then staff members (some or all depending on roles), are required to have "fit and proper" checks, the scope of which have changed over the years as regulations have changed. It's quite possible/likely that the "fit and proper" checks have been beefed up and the latest version has included a requirement to check qualifications which may not have been included in previous versions of the fit & proper checks.

As an illustration, I'm a one man band accountancy practice. For the first time ever, regulations have changed so that I now have to have a CRB check on myself to evidence to myself that I don't have any criminal convictions!! Although getting on in years, my memory isn't that bad that I would have forgotten if I had any criminal convictions, but that's not good enough, I need a piece of paper on file to confirm to me that I don't have any. I know that's not related to this thread, but it is an example of the ever changing goal posts in the financial services sector.

ChicCroissant · 25/02/2022 10:46

If they lied on their application, then it's serious.

If it's because the requirement for this qualification came in while they were in post - would depend on whether the company would accept an equivalent qualification at that time (assuming the employee claimed the equivalent qualification and didn't just lie).

Finance is very tightly regulated so I can see it being a very serious matter for the company, and if it is all down to a lie at the application stage would affect their ability to work in the sector going forward. What a mess.

RosieGuacamosie · 25/02/2022 12:59

What will happen really depends on the circumstances. For example did they say they have Y qualification but actually have X similar qualification? Or did they outright lie and say they had X qualification when they’d never done anything of the sort?

Is the qualification actually required to the job? For example are the expected to hold a licence such as a solicitor or is it more the “done thing” such as being a qualified teacher?

All these things will have an impact on what happens - it may be dismissal and regulatory sanctions or it might be resolved due to “admin” and previous good performance.

Tinkles78 · 25/02/2022 13:07

I have never once been asked for proof of my degree by my employer and I work in a profession allied to medicine. However, in order to legally work I have to be registered with a professional body, and being registered with them required proof that I'd done the relevant degree.

Was your colleague registered professionally?

drpet49 · 25/02/2022 13:10

It is fraud and could lead to a criminal conviction. Also if not qualified to work in finance all the previous clients could sue the company. It is extremely serious and will damage the reputation of the company when word gets out.

^This. I’ve always been asked for my qualification certificates.

DetailMouse · 25/02/2022 13:52

I once worked at a school where one of the teachers turned out not to have finished his qualification. There were several options available. We could have suspended and then dismissed him, but we offered to support him to finish the qualification (he declined) so he was moved to the unqualified teacher payscale and continued in post. He really was a very good teacher though. It would have been different if he was someone we wanted to get rid of.

Justkeeppedaling · 25/02/2022 16:29

If it's a regulated industry/employer under the Financial Services Acts/Financial conduct Acts, then staff members (some or all depending on roles), are required to have "fit and proper" checks, the scope of which have changed over the years as regulations have changed. It's quite possible/likely that the "fit and proper" checks have been beefed up and the latest version has included a requirement to check qualifications which may not have been included in previous versions of the fit & proper checks

I work for a building Society. It does lots of background checks on prospective employees, but I wasn't aware qualifications were included in this. I'm not in a regulated role though.