C.V.’s – Fact or Fiction? You Decide!

Helen Brooks discusses the methods which employers are adopting to screen potential candidates, including the use of social networking sites, and the pitfalls of using such methods.

A recent survey carried out by The Risk Advisory Group showed that of nearly 4,000 CV’s submitted for jobs in the financial sector, almost half had elements of inaccuracy and 20% contained notable lies. It is, therefore, understandable that many employers are now turning to some form of pre employment screening. However, such processes must be tailored and applied appropriately.

Whilst many employers undertake formal employee screening processes, in an age where information is accessible at the click of a button, many employers now choose to use the internet, and in particular social networking websites, to obtain personal information about prospective staff. By posting details of their private activities on personal websites or blogs, many employees are leaving themselves exposed to the possibility of a potential employer finding out facts about them that they would not otherwise have disclosed in an interview or in their CV.

Whilst social networking site Facebook specifically prohibits use of the site for commercial purposes in its Terms and Conditions, the owners of the site intend to capitalise upon the sites unprecedented popularity and are reported to be teaming up with Jobster Inc, a job seekers directory website, to enable Facebook users to create a job seeking profile. When this happens, it will be interesting to see the differences between a users personal profile and their job seeking profile! 

Employee Screening In General

The appropriate processes to be used when screening employees to assess trustworthiness, suitability, and to check previous convictions depend greatly on whether employment has commenced and how far it has progressed. The more established the employment relationship, the more difficult it is for a company to initiate checks or to investigate an employee.

When gathering information on individuals before employment has commenced, the basic rules are as follows:

(a) Information must be justified as being necessary to make the decision to hire the employee; and

(b) The scope of the information must be relevant and proportionate to that which the employer is seeking to achieve.

Questions should, therefore, be designed to obtain no more than the information actually needed. The employer should explain to applicants the nature of any screening process that will be undertaken and the methods used to carry it out, in particular any external sources involved and written consent to the screening process should be obtained in advance.

A distinction needs to be drawn between (a) verifying the information an employee has submitted, and (b) vetting employees whereby the employer makes their own independent enquiries. Initially, the employer should not go beyond verifying the information provided. Employees should be informed of any such inconsistencies and allowed the opportunity to provide an explanation. Where there are inconsistencies, it should not simply be assumed that it is the information provided by the employee that is untrue. On the other hand, independent vetting should only be used where the employer feels that they operate in a sector or at a level with particular and significant risks attached.

Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites contain a plethora of information, some of which is generic in nature and would be found on a CV (i.e. education and career history, hobbies and interests). However, other information can include much more personal details such as a person’s disability, sexual orientation, political views etc. Knowledge of such information could lead to allegations by unsuccessful applicants that their failure to be selected was motivated by reasons other than their skills and abilities and may amount to discrimination. It should also be noted that there is no guarantee of the accuracy of entries on these sites.

Employers must exercise caution when using social networking sites (or other Internet searches) to carry out pre employment screening, as there are inherent legal risks in using the Internet to source information on job applicants. Indeed, such research can undermine the transparency of the selection process, and, as stated above, may place the employers at risk of discrimination claims where recruitment decisions have been influenced by details obtained from the Internet. In addition, such searches may cause employers to fall foul of provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Employers should therefore remember that just because a new facility is available to them in the guise of an Internet search, this does not mean that they have to use it.

Conclusion

No recruitment decision should be made solely on the basis of information obtained from a source that may be inaccurate or falsified. The employer should use all reasonable means to ensure that any external sources used as part of the verification and/or vetting process are reliable. This is often the case when using the Internet.

Any screening of employees should be carried out sympathetically and in any event must be designed to only obtain information which is specifically needed to either enable the employer to perform the job in question or where there is a particular risk to the employer which requires to be managed.

Pre employment screening should not be a generic process which applies to every job applicant, however, any job offer should always be subject to references. 

If the employer takes the view that significant risks are involved in relation to any particular job it is good practice that employees are warned in certain instances that periodic and possibly even random screening will take place. It is very much a question of degree in that the privacy of employees must be balanced against the reasonable and legitimate protection that the employer requires.

Helen and the employment team advise on all employment related legal issues and aim to find effective solutions to resolve matters and overcome disputes involving your employees.

This article was first published by Consult Gee HR during October 2007 www.consultgee.co.uk