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?

You emailed her university? You're in stalker territory

What is more likely? Fraud or changing the facts in OP to be less outing?

Obviously the OP has never lied about anything in their life and is always sweetness and light around all of her best friends and work colleagues. I'm making an assumption she has friends. And work colleagues that talk to her.

I doubt I'd be happy to have her (I assume the OP is a she but I'm guessing, not that it matters) in my work team or even working for my employer with her (his?) attitude. I assume (!!) also that s/he hasn't been drinking as so many posts were happening in the morning. When she's presumably at work. Not working. Maybe someone should report her to HR??

Because you sound like your 💯 jealous.
Just mind your own business.
The fact that you pretend that you have integrity is hilarious,
How aout having a bit of integrity and not spying on people and being a childish snake?

If your company has won a public sector contract that involves spending taxpayer money they yes you should report your suspicions.

I recently watched the Michelle Mone documentary and, while she was a impressive business woman in many respects, her loose relationship with the truth was eventually her downfall as the company she recommended to receive a big contract couldn’t fulfil its obligations.

Ultimately, there are some walks of life where integrity is both important and should be expected.

Cladding companies not being honest in their testing is another example. If someone is lying about their level of capability then what else are they lying about that might cost lives?!

If there had been some facts in the post then possibly changing them…but, there aren’t any. Just speculation. What’s more likely is that the OP has a grudge against a colleague for some reason and wants to make their life difficult. IMO.

Perhaps go and have a quiet off the record chat with someone in hr?

Why you grassing on her? What's your ulterior motive?

I think that it is pointless posting on threads if you think the OP is a massive liar.

I think that OP found out that someone at her company is a massive liar, and she created a story for mumsnet so as not to be outing. I think OP has morals (she wants to see liars / fraudsters face justice) and that she is fearful that she could suffer if the company suffers due to the reputational harm from discovering that key staff are liars / fraudsters.

If you know for sure (and you claim you do) and if your colleagues job role relies on having that degree, then yes you should report it. When I was 7 I accused a fellow pupil of stealing my ruler. It wasn’t that pupil and I had just mislaid my ruler. I got hauled out by the teacher for false accusation. A lesson I never forgot.

That's so random. I'm guessing you don't actually work? or have degrees yourself🤔

HAHA! Seriously!

This happens in my line of work too, so OP would have to consider the fact that it may be the bid writer that has done it, and again this may not be deliberate fraud e.g. they copied and pasted the wrong persons details, or some other error.

Cock up before conspiracy, my old boss used to say.

If you are highly principled, and think it's wrong a colleague has deliberately lied to secure employment, then report it to HR. You sound as if you're absolutely sure of your facts, so therefore just report the person to HR. I'm not even sure why you're asking on here, you clearly want to report this colleague and feel you should, so do it!! How your HR will react, who knows, and no one else on here can answer that question. You should have some idea how your employer will react. Regardless of their personal opinion, they'd have an obligation to investigate your allegations. It could also (especially if your allegations are proved to be true) trigger a bigger investigation, and everyone will needs to provide proof of any qualifications stated. However, on the flip side, if they find your allegations are unfounded, you have no idea how you will be viewed, quite possibly as a 'trouble maker' or someone with a vendetta.

The country is falling apart because as individuals, we are not pulling together. We are happy to be divided.

You being a stalkery weirdo and trying to get a colleague into trouble ‘for the sake of the company reputation polishes halo’ is part of the problem, not the solution.

So she's claiming to have professional architecture qualifications, but only has an undergraduate architecture degree - is that right? Falsely claiming to have professional qualifications is different to saying you have eg an MBA I think.

But I would expect to have to provide evidence of professional qualifications as part of recruitment to a job for which they are required.

Clearly you only want comments from people who support your point of view!

I'm about to add a new Post Grad to my CV, as I'm just about finished with it.

Noone at work bar my boss knew I was doing it, so it's going to appear out of nowhere for everyone else. Doesn't make it fraud. There's a name for it - CPD.

Hell, qualifications appearing AFTER someone is employed is my bread and butter - I'm a Head of L&D. CPD is a requirement of many professional roles, and is also a personal goal for a lot of people. Plenty of people quietly crack on and update their CVs accordingly.

Of course, you could be right, but I wouldn't bet my house on it.

Unless I was the company owner I wouldn't massively care. Just live and let live OP. If you must, send an anonymous email to her line manager and leave it up to them to investigate or not, but otherwise just mind your own business.

thought you were going to stop reading replies?

This is surprisingly common. Someone I know with barely a GCSE is claiming an Oxbridge degree plus!

Another I knew didn’t complete Uni & his CV claimed otherwise. He lost job over it & then went back to Uni I think & prospered. Got old job back. It felt like a bit of an overreaction & I think envy caused the initial report.

In most companies I have worked for honesty and integrity are essential - I have seen people escorted from the building for saying they had a B in their O Level/GSCE maths when they only had a C. Degree subjects are listed according to what is stated on the certificate, not renamed as ‘something more accessible’ to a layperson. If you are governed by the FCA or PRA (as most investment banks are, for instance) an employee claiming to have degrees, or misrepresenting the ones they do have, is a serious misconduct and compliance issue. HR are supposed to verify qualifications and it seems that perhaps they haven’t done so?

Unlike many PPs here, I too would have double checked whether my suspicions were right before raising it with anyone else, but I do think you need to go and have an informal conversation with HR to discuss your concerns. They should then be able to deal with it (ie verify which qualifications this person has) and follow procedures if a fraud has occurred.

I think it's risky to list non-existent qualifications on customer-facing documents (email/bid) because the customer might complain or worse. Do not understand why OP being given a kicking. Australian degree irrelevant.

Of course one should be honest and have integrity. That is part of being a decent human being, however you aren’t displaying these traits either. A person with true integrity would raise their concerns directly with the person in question and, if not satisfied with the information given, inform them that you feel you need to report your concern. Not sneak around underhandedly conducting a half-baked ‘investigation’ then reporting it behind their back. That is what a vindictive coward does. It’s interesting that you seem to think your actions here paint you as some shining example of moral superiority. I think you need to reflect on yourself a bit here and work out what your true intentions are.