A standout resume can play a critical part in landing that dream job in today’s competitive job market. While resume creativity is not uncommon, an Australian woman’s artistic licence recently landed her in hot water when she was sentenced to jail for lying about her work history to secure a lucrative government job.
Veronica Theriault was sentenced to 25 months jail for deception and dishonesty offences for fabricating her work history with a well known hotel reservation website provider and posing as her own referee. The employee also had her brother pose as her other referee and used a photograph of a supermodel on her LinkedIn profile. The employee also provided a falsified payslip from her previous employer to negotiate a higher salary.
While Ms Theriault learnt a particularly harsh lesson, her story is a reminder of the serious consequences of providing misleading or false information to an employer. Not only can it be grounds for an employer to take disciplinary action such as dismissal, it can also lead to an employee facing criminal and other charges.
If you believe one of your employees has behaved dishonestly or you have been accused by your employer of dishonest behaviour, please contact a member of our employment team to discuss your options.
John Sneddon, Partner (07) 3307 4504 jsneddon@shandtaylor.com.au
Kimberley Forman, Partner (07) 3307 4523 kforman@shandtaylor.com.au
Ruby Nielsen, Associate (07) 3307 4551 rnielsen@shandtaylor.com.au