Can an Employee Challenge a Termination Over a Disputed Degree Verification?

Scenario: An employee was asked to resign on the spot by the company because his degree was found to be fake during the background verification process. However, when the employee received the verification report, he didn't have the chance to prove the authenticity of his degree. If the employee can prove that the degree is genuine, can the company's background verification process be legally challenged?

Did the company dismiss the employee, stating that he has produced a fake degree? If it is there in writing, the company can be challenged in a court of law.

Misconduct and Legal Implications of Fake Documents

Producing fake documents is a criminal offense in itself and misrepresenting one's degree can lead to misconduct. However, such misconduct should be proven through a domestic inquiry, giving the employee a fair chance, considering the principles of natural justice. Otherwise, direct termination based on a report from a verification agency—though the authenticity of the verification agency is uncertain—could render the termination illegal if challenged in a court of law.

Check out my blog at www.labourlawhub.com for more details.

Greetings,

This is a royal mess! Background verification works on very stringent rules; hence, it often doesn't allow cross-verification with the candidate. In this scenario, as Nathrao has stated, this can easily be challenged if the employer has written down the cause for termination. Please share if you are the HR of the firm or someone related to the candidate? We can suggest a course of action accordingly.

Looking forward to hearing from you!