A note of caution for employers in South Africa
South Africa has experienced an increase in controversies involving the recruitment of people with false qualifications.
Fake qualifications have affected practically every industry in the country, from “TikTok doctors” providing medical advice to economists and city councillors to high-level government posts.
“The ease with which these unscrupulous fraudsters get through the appointment process is worrying,” said employment law experts at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Jose Jorge, Alex van Greuning and Caitlin Freddy.
“The harsh reality is that most [employers] do not conduct a proper due diligence of candidates when appointing employees [as they] simply take a candidate’s purported qualifications at face value and do not use any sort of verification process,” they added.
“The adverse consequences of these types of appointments can be severe, not only to an employer but also the public.”
For example, “the SABC was hollowed out over several years, during a certain CEO’s tenure [while] PRASA misspent hundreds of millions of rand buying trains that were too high for the local rail network.
These institutions had in common the appointment of individuals who falsely claimed to have qualifications that they did not,” they said.
Currently, the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Act mandates employers to ensure that a candidate’s qualifications are listed in the national learners’ records database prior to hiring.
If qualifications are not provided, employers must contact the South African Qualifications Agency (SAQA) for verification. SAQA is responsible for reporting any false or falsified qualifications to the relevant professional body.
To deliberately supply incorrect or misleading information is an offense (a violation of the NQF Act), punishable by a fine and imprisonment for up to five years.
As a result, employment specialists advise firms to “seriously consider their recruitment processes” and explore the idea of implementing a formal verification process.
Employers are advised to verify qualifications, particularly for foreign or unfamiliar universities, through approved authorities.
“We advise all employers both in the public and private sectors to consider verifying their current and future employees’ qualifications through the verification agencies whose contact details are available on the website of Umalusi,” wrote the council, which sets and monitors standards for general and further education, Umalusi.
The council has continued to issue warnings regarding the surge in fraudulent qualifications purchased from fraudsters or obtained through unaccredited private institutions.
“An illicit industry has built up around this type of fraud,” explained the employment experts.
They proposed that during interviews, companies should ask competency-based questions to assess a candidate’s expertise and knowledge.
“For more technical or specialised positions, employers may consider having candidates take some form of practical assessment,” they said.
Finally, employment contracts and policies should explicitly state that falsifying qualifications is unacceptable, “and the consequences of such misconduct should be clearly stated.”
Kind Regards
CPI Payroll Support Team