In one shameful case it emerged that a secretary in Hull had managed to con her employers of more than £15,000 by falsely claiming she had cancer. It was an elaborate hoax including the faking of chemotherapy treatment, vomiting at work and shaving her head. Her employers were taken in completely.
Employees diagnosed with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses are afforded significant protections under the Equality Act, and rightly so. You can only dismiss such an employee for cogent reasons that are unrelated to the disease. Fraudsters (those who claim to have the disease) are often under-performing, disruptive or otherwise difficult employees. Typically, they will use various forms of subterfuge (as in this case) to avoid you getting evidence of the truth about their (fake) condition. They know that if you dismiss them that they can then make life difficult for you.
At Employer Solutions, our seasoned HR professionals are adept at handling such challenging matters with sensitivity and professionalism. We provide expert guidance to ensure both legal compliance and ethical management, safeguarding your business from Tribunal awards that can be of unlimited magnitude. So, for professional support in these complex situations, please contact Employer Solutions for a no-obligation consultation. We’re here to help you manage with integrity and confidence.
It is not just false claims about cancer, lying by employees is too common for comfort. Employers can be overly trusting. Here are some checks to avoid being taken in.
1. Ask to see qualification certificates:
- It complements your candidates who have worked hard for those pieces of paper and weeds out those who do not have them.
2. Check employment history:
- Watch for embellishment of a career – job titles can be misleading.
- Employers can be reluctant to give references but almost all employers will confirm a past employee’s dates of employment and the they job(s) held.
- Check gaps in the employment history.
3. Check for the right to work in the UK:
- An illegal worker is bound to lie; he or she has to. Check the relevant documents, date and copy them – see government guidance, to be safe.
4. Check medical certificates:
- If you suspect forgery contact the GP surgery.
- Ask the employee for further evidence if they are claiming disability (unless that is apparent from fit to work certificates).
- Employees with cancer are protected from discrimination from the point of diagnosis.
5. Ask for evidence of a dependent’s illness:
- If an employee is associated with someone who has cancer they are also protected under the Equality Act from discrimination. So from the fraudsters viewpoint, it may be easier to lie about a relative’s cancer than pretending you have the disease. In 2013 a primary school teacher was given a suspended prison sentence after costing her employer over £100,000. She’d claimed paid time off based on the deception of a younger relative having cancer.
Genuine cancer sufferers deserve all the support they can get (including the right to work without suffering discrimination). But before you pay out thousands, contact Employer Solutions.