Whatshot
Legal Talk
Legal Talk
Lying on your CV could land you in jail
At the beginning of the year many job seekers, including matriculants and graduates have to prepare their CV in order to enter a competitive job market.
Even though it may be tempting to "embellish" your CV by lying that you have the qualifications needed for your job, you should under no circumstances misrepresent on your CV.
False claims also extend to any unfinished and incomplete tertiary degrees or diplomas. The repercussions for such misrepresentation could be very costly. Previously if an employee was found to have lied on their CV they risked dismissal from their job.
However, during the second half of 2019 the National Qualifications Framework Act was updated. This Act says that lying about your academic qualifications could also mean you are guilty of committing a criminal offence. The criminal sanction includes being imprisoned for up to five years.
There have been a number of high profile individuals who were alleged to have mispresented on their CV's about their qualifications. Recent news reports say that the ambassador to Italy, Shrish Soni was asked to produce his matric certificate after rumours circulated that he does not possess a matric certificate.
The Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (Prasa) successfully sued its former executive manager Daniel Mthimkhulu after he was dismissed for lying that he had a diploma and bachelor's degree in engineering.
In addition, after landing the job, Mthimkhulu informed his employer Prasa that he had been given a doctorate award by a German university and as a result also received a lucrative job offer as an engineering services specialist.
He then manipulated Prasa to increase his annual salary to R2 800 000 to match the alleged offer. When Prasa discovered Mthimkhulu's misrepresentation, it not only dismissed him but also took him to court to recover the monies they gave him based on his fraudulent misrepresentation.
The high court found in favour of Prasa and ordered Mthimkhulu to refund over R5.7million, which he received, from Prasa. In December 2019, Mthimkhulu's leave to appeal the ruling was dismissed.
The NQF Act doesn't only limit the false claims to what is stated in a CV, but it includes any false bragging whether it's boasting to someone conversationally or making false claims on social-media platforms, think LinkedIn, Facebook or the like.
This means it's not only an offence to claim a false qualification, but it's also an offence to brag about having a false qualification.
Any person could open the criminal charges for the lies, as it's not restricted to employers. Helping someone prepare a false CV or make false claims of qualifications, is also a criminal offence.
Know your rights! The Law Desk of Fawzia Khan and Associates. Giving YOU the Power of Attorney. Email fawzia@thelawdesk.co.za or call 031-5025670 for legal assistance at competitive rates.