Job seekers must be sure of the information they put on their CVs because if anything is untrue you could be sued.
Employers have the right to legal recourse if your qualifications, skills, or experience are misrepresented, says Nicol Myburgh, HCM business unit head at CRS Technologies.
“Employers invest a lot of time and resources in the recruitment and selection process, which includes reviewing CVs, conducting interviews and verifying references.
“However, despite these efforts, some candidates may exaggerate or outright lie about their qualifications, skills, or experience to secure a job offer. This can include misrepresenting education credentials, professional certifications, work experience or other qualifications.”
Employers may also have grounds to terminate employees for misrepresenting their qualifications.
“Under the National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act 2019, South Africans who are found guilty of misrepresenting their qualifications on their CVs could face a harsh fine, up to five years in prison, or both,” Myburgh says, adding that employers may also seek to recover the salary paid to the employee.
“This is known as a claim for unjust enrichment and is based on the principle that an employee who obtains a job by misrepresentation should not be entitled to the benefits of that job, including their salary.”
To make a claim for unjust enrichment, the employer must prove that:
– the employee made a material misrepresentation that induced the employer to offer the job, and
– the employer suffered a loss as a result.
He notes, however, that the misrepresentation must be significant enough that it would have affected the employer's decision to hire the employee.
“An employee found guilty of unjust enrichment could find themselves having to forfeit their future salary, pension/provident fund contributions or even physical assets to pay for the damages incurred by the employer.”
IOL Business