Mike Haley, Chief Executive Officer of Cifas, said, ‘In today’s competitive job market, it is tempting to lie or exaggerate on an application form or CV, but jobseekers need to be aware of the enormous personal risks this type of fraudulent behaviour carries.
‘If you get caught making a fraudulent job application - regardless of whether you are offered the job or not - your details could be recorded on the Cifas Internal Fraud Database for six years. During this period, any job application you make could be searched against the database and potential employers made aware that you lied in previous job applications. At worst, you also risk facing a prison sentence, and so you need to ask yourself – is it worth the risk?’
Cifas is an independent, not-for-profit membership organisation that protects businesses and individuals through effective and secure data and intelligence sharing between the private, public and third sectors. In 2018, Cifas member organisations prevented over £1.4 billion of fraud losses with Reed Screening being the only pre-employment vetting company on the Advisory Board. From 29th January 2018, the FCO started providing the Cabinet Office with information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences who then input the information onto a database – the Internal Fraud Database (IFD).
Reed Specialist Recruitment were the first recruitment company to become a Cifas member over 10 years ago and REED's Group Risk Director, Keith Rosser, explains why it is so important for recruitment businesses to join:
'For over 10 years REED have worked with Cifas to share the latest trends and fraud information to help protect both REED and the clients we work with. The Internal Fraud Database is a really good tool for ensuring clients are protected when working with REED. Recruiters should all join as the nature of the labour market changes to keep themselves and their clients safe.'
Keith is also Director of Reed Screening, a Non Executive Board Member of Disclosure Scotland, and a member of the Cifas Advisory Board. Keith is also on the European Council for the global trade association for the pre-employment vetting sector, the PBSA, and Chairs the Criminal Records Trade Body with the DBS and Disclosure Scotland.
Reed Screening check over 90,000 CV's per year and have identified that one in four (24%) of CV's have information that is not backed up or confirmed by the pre-screening process, meaning we are often unable to progress their application. Reed Screening are a UK based, 24/7 service who have already reduced time to hire and worked with Home Office to change UK Right to Work legislation for employers. Being part of the UK's largest family owned recruitment business, Reed Screening is best able to ensure consistent vetting for all staff types across the supply chain in a way that keeps businesses safe and actually saves money.