Employee Falsified Experience: How Should We Handle This Situation?

Hi folks, recently, while conducting a background check, we found that an employee had falsified his experience by adding 3 months to make it appear as a year when he actually had 9 months of experience. Despite this discrepancy, he is an excellent performer who consistently adheres to company policies and rules, and his Turnaround Time (TAT) is exceptional. Additionally, he is working for a relatively lower salary compared to his counterparts in other regions of our company.

Advice Needed on Handling Falsified Experience

Please advise on how to proceed with this situation.

Employee Misconduct: Addressing Falsified Experience

Leaving aside Ravi's in-jest comment after the initial laugh, does the employee know that he has been caught?

Action Choices

While his performance can definitely be considered positively in the decision, it also needs to be brought to his notice that he does have to pay for his misdemeanour—that would be good for him and your company too, in the long run. But first, confront him with the finding.

Since he is working on a lower CTC than others, one option could be to increase his probation period (assuming he is still under probation)—from whatever it is right now. Another option could be to delay his salary raise by a specific and mutually agreeable duration—he should know why it's being done. Other members could come up with other options.

There's, however, another angle to this issue that's important for you. Maybe it's time that you begin to release the offers after the background check is done henceforth. This would preempt such situations from repeating.

Considerations for Disclosure

Another aspect that you may need to give some thought to is: should this be known to other employees? There are both pros and cons for either way you handle it.

Regards,
TS

What I see is that your company is at an advantage for having good manpower at lower salaries. As you mentioned, he has proven himself to be an asset to the organization. You can bring this to his notice and explore why he did so. He must be held accountable for his misdeeds, and his appraisals should reflect it. However, any further harsh action might not be required.

I am also thinking of making him informed about his clever trick. But I am sure if it reaches the top level, he will have to face great pressure. In our group, we are bound by group ethical policies. However, losing a person with good performance will hurt, especially since his previous firm has also closed down.

Given the fact that his earlier company has closed down, I am not sure if his action was a 'clever trick'—it could be more out of desperation than any clear or purposeful intent to cheat (like we keep seeing the postings in this forum—guys opting for the easy way out, and if that means 'to cheat,' so be it attitude).

Suggestion for Handling the Situation

I suggest talking to him and also ensuring he pays for it—a mistake is a mistake, whatever the causes or reasons. How he is made to pay for it is up to you.

Regards,
TS

Just had a word with my boss. He said to let him know that his deceit is caught and to keep all supporting documents with you if needed in the future. However, we still need him to stay as he is performing well and has agreed to a lower salary.

Increase his salary as he is a good performer and is also working on a low salary. At the same time, take an explanation from him for the fake experience, or you can bring it to his notice that he has been caught.

I may suggest the following:

Written Warning

• A written warning should be issued to the employee for lack of integrity and kept on record in his personal file.

Probation Extension

• As a penalty for this act, his period of probation should be extended by 3 months. After successful completion of the extended period, his salary may be fixed based on performance, and a market trend-based correction may be applied.

Salary Review and Increment

• If already confirmed on completion of the probation period and his salary has been fixed (possibly lower than the market trend), no salary review should be undertaken now. After one year (or as per your company rules), a performance-based increment may be given as per your standard norms. Market-based correction to the salary may also be applied if he continues to be a top performer and there is no issue with his behavior.

Let's be practical and forgiving to a certain extent. I faced a similar situation in my team where a team member had faked the period of his employment. During the background check, the agency reported him negatively as the firm in which he was working had shut down, and those individuals weren't able to verify it. I spoke to the team member in confidence, and he admitted that he had falsely represented his experience to some extent.

What I Observed and Ultimately Decided:

- He was a very good performer.
- He adhered to rules more diligently than anybody else, and I believe the individual you are inquiring about is also trying to rectify his/her past mistakes and move forward positively.

Considering the above and his overall attitude at work, I chose not to disclose the truth to my superiors or HR, and the team member continued to work effectively with integrity. He has since received a promotion in his career, and I am genuinely pleased for him, with no regrets.

I suggest that you make a decision based on your intuition, but do inform the employee one-on-one that you are aware of the situation and emphasize that this could result in termination.

Everyone makes mistakes, and even people in high positions make significant ones that often go unaddressed. I recommend that you assess the situation based on your observations and judgment before determining whether he/she deserves a second chance!

I completely agree with Shekhar Singh; he is hardworking and dedicated, despite working at a lower salary. The best approach would be to bring the matter to his notice so that he thinks twice before making any similar mistakes and to seek forgiveness. Furthermore, it's only a matter of three months; are you overlooking the nine months?

Evaluating Clauses in Appointment Orders

First, you need to check whether you have any clause in your appointment order regarding fake experience or faulty certification, etc. If you have it, then check what action you have mentioned against such and take the action accordingly without hesitation. If you do not take any action, the appointment order will not have any value.

Verbal Communication During Interviews

If you do not have such a clause in the appointment order, then have you verbally informed the candidate during the interview that if caught in such an incident, they will face certain actions? If you have informed them, take that action.

Decision Making Based on Company Policies

If in both cases, your answer is no, then you need to make a decision considering your company's policies.

Regards,
Arun J.

Falsified Experience Certificate: Intentional or Unintentional?

It is not known whether he has provided a fake experience certificate or simply mentioned the same in the bio-data/application form. If it is mentioned in the bio-data/application form, it can be treated as unintentional. However, if it was deliberately falsified in the certificate, then the lighter logic cannot be applied.

Regards,
M. Venkatraghavan

In this case, there are two important points. First, the employee has cheated the company, which shows his character. There is no doubt that this person is manipulative and can break any rule or law if it suits him. On the other hand, you seem to focus on the profits. But one crucial point is the minimum eligibility for the post.

The second point is the impression on other employees. To maintain the standards and everything as they should be, I believe the first thing to do is to issue him a memo and charge sheet, hold an inquiry, and give him the punishment, which should be termination from service. This will deter others from engaging in similar misconduct.

Now, coming to the other side of the story, as he is a good worker and it appears you are more than happy with his performance, I suggest asking him to resubmit his application with the correct details and then reemploy him as a fresh employee, perhaps at a salary at par with that post. This action will not only maintain discipline in the company but also help this employee in his future career.

Let him work with the same concern. Everyone sometimes needs to make mistakes. However, we are not here to forget and forgive. Check the reason behind his fake experience. If it is acceptable, leave it and ask him to correct it in his CV or his personal file as soon as possible. If it is not acceptable, warn him and allow him to work with the same low salary for a period of 1 year. Then, hike his salary. But make sure not to share this issue with others. This matter should be between you and that employee only. Everyone may have made some mistakes. The punishment depends on the nature of his mistake.

Regards

It's just a three-month issue. Re-submission with the correct information seems suitable, but in a large organization like mine, when we update his information, HRIS will mark it in red. This can lead to escalations and even termination, as far as I know.

However, I simply want to convey to him that he is a good worker, but what he has done is not ethical. Although it was done only to meet the eligibility criteria.

Conducting a Domestic Inquiry

Conduct a domestic inquiry and provide him with a fair chance to express and defend himself. Take into account his good performance and discipline when reaching any conclusions.

Options for Handling Employee Misconduct

In this case, you have a couple of choices:

1. Termination
2. Retaining

Typically, I would retain him rather than terminate because I can forgive him unless he harms the business. Also:

1. He proved that he is a potential candidate in the interview among all.
2. At work, he proved himself as a good performer, punctual, etc.
3. There are no concerns for management regarding his pay.
4. As an HR professional, I don't want to (I can, but) spend time and effort to find someone better than him (they might look better on paper, but I'm not sure about their actual work).

Hence, just forgive him and let him work, but don't forget to collect a written explanation and keep it personal.