How Should I Handle an Employee's Fake Credentials Without Compromising Ethics?

Dear All, Hope you all are well! I have a question for you. Please provide me with a solution. I am an HR & ADMIN Executive. An employee of my company was recruited 1.5 years ago. At that time, I did not handle the recruitment process. Recently, while verifying the data of all employees, I discovered fraudulent activities by one employee. His educational background is below 10, yet he submitted fake graduation level papers. Despite having good relations in the office and personal life, I am surprised by this individual's deceitful actions.

Subsequently, I had an unofficial conversation with him, during which he confessed and requested that I conceal this from the HR head to avoid termination. Although I do not wish for severe consequences, I am open to imposing other forms of punishment given his impoverished background and cooperative demeanor.

On the contrary, if I choose to conceal this information, I would be ethically conflicted, and revealing it later could implicate me. In light of this situation, what course of action should I take?

Your prompt response is greatly appreciated.

Regards, Sabyashachi

In these cases, as an HR Executive, this must be verified at the employee's joining time. However, it was a matter of 1 year, and the thing making you feel guilty is that you are hiding something which your management doesn't know. In this situation, you mainly need to consider whether that employee is beneficial for your company with his performance or not. If yes, the main objective of HR is recruiting the candidate who always helps in achieving the company's objectives/goals. One more thing, if there is a rule in your company stating that submitting the original certificates needs to be verified at the time of joining, and if there is any policy in your company regarding fraudulent activities, you may need to comply with them to respect your management.

All the best.

Thanks for your advice, Sir. I am totally double-minded. If I hide this due to a soft corner, then I will be accountable for any future problems. On the other side, as an HR professional, if I go to my superior, then the employee might be under-punished.

As a newcomer in this section, I am under pressure and also very concerned about my professional ethics.

What Should I Do?

1. To go ahead with professionalism
2. To stop here and not go further.

Regards

No, he was recruited before I came in here. My superior (Head of HR) and his past subordinate handled his recruitment procedure. They may have ignored the tight verification process. Now, I am scrutinizing all personal files and have been able to find out this fraudulent activity. By the way, in our company policy, no sentence is noted about this type of fraudulence.

Ethical Dilemma: Reporting Fraudulence

Regarding your reply, I am not the superior, that's right? But is it ethical that when I find fraudulence, I should not share it with my boss? Although the moral of the story is that I want justice and punishment, I do not want capital punishment. If capital punishment is ordered from the top, then the victim (criminal) must realize how and why he is being punished. In this regard, I want a solution with a soft corner. Is it right that I request my boss for his continuity of service and give him another punishment for his fraudulence?

Thanks and Regards,
Sabyashachi

You caught the fraud when you scrutinized it. But you are not at fault as you have not inducted him. You should handle this case diplomatically. Consider the performance output of the candidate and also gauge the level of loyalty and dedication of this employee to the company. Also, judge the reason for which he has committed this fraud. Take the views of your seniors and put yourself in your situation. Try to find a solution. Policies are made by us. Rules are there for the betterment of the company. Yet, exceptions work well when you judge that the company benefits more from them than the fraud committed.

Don't lose such human assets, those may be wrong on paper but good and useful for the company. You have valuable human assets on board. Your decision should not only be intelligent but also ensure it does not harm humanity at large.

Thanks

Hi, I agree with BIJAY-MAJUMDAR. It is not your fault at all but reflects weak management policy. At this stage, any action will amount to hitting below the belt of a person, which is neither professionally correct nor ethically right. So, keep quiet and terminate him if he gives a chance for any other misconduct.

Thanks,
N.K. SHARMA

I am not an HR person and do not know your company's rules. However, I recall a statement from one of my bosses. He had said, "Rules are there to be broken."

Questions to Consider

Let me raise a few questions that may help you make a decision. What does the company rule say about people giving false information in their application? Is there a penalty clause? How good is the employee in his role? Does that role really need a person with a degree qualification? For example, I know of people with ordinary degrees and master's degrees doing a job that a high school graduate can do. Sometimes, people with experience are better than degree holders. Your statement "poorer than poorer" makes me think that he is not in any big role.

A Lesson Learned

Also, let this case be a lesson for you. Unless the company asks you to verify the background of present employees, do not bother checking.

Regards.

As an HR personnel, it is your responsibility to adhere to the company policy. If documentation verification is mandatory and you have discovered a person with fake documents, you must bring this to the attention of management. It is up to the management to decide what actions to take. If you are part of the management team, you can provide your comments either in favor or against the incident.

Practical Example of Document Verification Issues

I have a practical example related to this scenario. There was a person who demonstrated outstanding performance in his field, but his documents were not acceptable for verification by Government Departments. Qualifications do matter, but private companies sometimes prioritize performance over qualifications, and that individual is still employed with us.

Remember, whether you have hired the individual or not, this issue may surface one day and both parties could face consequences.

Regards

To answer your question, you should be professional. If your admin friend is professional, he would appreciate it. The grave issue I see here is not about his performance or process, but his credibility. Admin and finance professionals deal with lots of purchases and cash dealings (I am not being judgmental), so one has to be very diligent and honest with the system. As there are no written clauses about actions, I believe you have to get your senior to have confidence and both should jointly speak to him, making him realize that this is not right. He should not do this with anyone ever and give him a chance to correct his mistake. This will be a good gesture as an employer and also a just action.

Professionalism and Integrity in Handling Fraudulent Activities

To answer your question, you should be professional. If your admin friend is professional, he would appreciate it. The grave issue I see here is not about his performance or process but his credibility. Admin and finance professionals deal with lots of purchases and cash dealings (I am not being judgmental), so one has to be very diligent and honest with the system.

As there are no written clauses about actions, I believe you have to gain the confidence of your senior. Both of you should jointly speak to him, making him realize that this is not right. He should not do this with anyone ever. Give him a chance to correct his mistake; this will be a good gesture as an employer and also a just action.

First of all, if the employee has done wrong, then he should be guilty, not you. Secondly, that employee has been working for the company for 1.5 years. You can check his credibility, and if he is an asset to your company, then you should ignore what he has done. However, at the same time, you have to make him realize the guilt of his actions. Sometimes, you have to think emotionally as well, unless there is no harm from that. This is what I suggest.

Regards,
Ritika

Thank you all for your valuable comments and suggestions. I am very glad to have support from you. I am pleased to be a member of the worldwide Human Resource community. Regarding the above, all of your integrated suggestions, from my ethical point of view, I have already disclosed the matter to my boss and also posted a humanitarian prayer to him like 'No Termination, If you have any other source...'.

That's all. I think I am professionally correct, ethically clear, and as an employee, I have also shown my sympathetic side.

Thank you once again, guys. Days will come, and problems may arise. I hope we all will provide ourselves with proper guidance.

Regards,
Sabyashachi
Executive - Admin & HR
An old and well-established group of companies, BD.