Claiming degrees you dont have

[51daystoChristmas]

Hi, I have a colleague who is claiming to have degrees she doesnt have. She has two degrees on her email signature that don't match the ones on our company CVs that go out to third parties which is what led me to noticing. So I did a bit of checking and on LinkedIn she has a completely different degree listed, with the university name. So I emailed the university which is in Australia, that information is on public record there, and they confirmed that degree and date. She works on winning business for the company so I think any sort of fraud would be really bad for the company, she's worked here for 10 years though. She has recently been promoted, and is good at her job. I'm in a different team and it makes no difference to me, I was just wondering if I should let anyone know as they've just won a really public facing project. What do you think?

She's got a point. What exactly did you think you were doing. Nothing good I suspect.

Jeez, there are some really toxic people out there.

So now you have this information what are you going to do with it? If it does end up costing your company millions as you are implying, then what will the company think of you for sneaking about and taking it upon yourself to act as moral guardian and contact the University , but then just sit on the information because it was no skin off your nose. Or are you going to run to HR and confirm your status as company sneak?

What you should have done, as you well know, is either have kept your suspicions to your self or approach your colleague informally so that she could resolve the situation herself.

If she says she's an architect then she should be registered with the ARB (Architects Registration Board), and you can report concerns over title use here:
https://title-complaints.arb.org.uk/

I think you crossed the line when you emailed the university - I'd have given HR a heads up that I'd motoced a discrepancy and left it at that. Ot's what they are there for. The amount of digging you've done is a bit intense.

I think you're getting a hard time. If they're lying about being a qualified architect that's quite a big deal and I can understand your concerns.

Surely that's too big a thing for someone to lie about?

I'm sure people on here would be concerned if the false qualifications impacted you. Obviously, main one would be doctor! But what about accountant, solicitor, architect?

OK, technically she did wrong.
Go tell your bosses.
Shame for the company as she seems to be doing a good job for them.
Maybe they'll discipline her, maybe they'll sack her.
Will you then feel justified?

Really am sensing some jealousy here.

I dropped out in third year and write on my CV that I have a diploma of further in education in the subject from the university because that’s the equivalent of completing second year. Everyone that reads it seems to think it’s a degree and I don’t correct them 🤣

I'm 99% sure you have had exactly the response you hoped for.

Maybe your company should do better background checks then. Or, maybe they already know this info and are fine with it. Either way, none of your business and you won't get anywhere making a fuss about it.

Do people actually have this much time on their hands?

Jheez get a life.

As often happens on here, the first reply nails it. ^

You've gone into a lot of detail on the one degree you did confirm. Why can't you say anything at all about the ones you know she doesn't have?

These qualifications have over time appeared on public facing documents but only the OP is smart enough to notice. Sounds legit

ETA I also haven't updated my LinkedIn. The horror

Why has your HR dept not verified the qualifications? Did you have to have your qualifications verified before being offered your job?

It's actually very practical advice as if you think about it OP you would be in much more trouble with HR if you went to them.

Indeed, and their reaction to you undermining their work and credibility.

So is she a qualified architect? If she's lying about that then I can see that's serious.

Tbh you should have gone to HR straight away, the email to the Uni is borderline bullying. I can't imagine your whistleblowong process involves doing all the snooping about yourself, there will be a process somewhere and if you've not followed it you'll be in trouble yourself.

Once you've reported it you won't find out the outcome, although if she's fired you'll know why I guess.

I never would have dreamed doing that on another colleague if she is good at her job. It really isnt any of your business to be honest.

What's your desired outcome @51daystoChristmas? That she gets fired?

I see what you're saying but unless you feel that she has been awarded her current position on her degree rather than her aptitude I'd leave it. You've admitted yourself that's she's good at her job so she's not deceiving anyone in that sense- the existence of a piece of paper has always seemed like a triviality after a certain amount of time in a role.

Beep boop oh no you found me out 🤖

I probably wouldn’t do anything. I have qualifications from universities I attended in a different country to the one I live and work in. It’s not always possible to find the exact match when you’re creating your LinkedIn profile, so you’d pick the closest match. So it really might be as simple as that.

Lying about being a qualified architect is a whole different thing to saying you have a degree in tourism. It's likely that the company's public liability insurance would be invalidated, just as a starter.

I think people need to get used to the cold hard facts - members of the public are entitled to search for publically available information, even if it's about you and you don't want them to!

I had a friend who copied my CV and qualifications word for word then invented an extra degree from MIT. She took it all over to the USA and landed some fantastic jobs over a short period of time.

Glad I was of use 🙄