Fraudulent job application leads to 24 weeks in jail
Rhiannon Mackay, who forged references and lied in her job application to get an NHS post has been jailed for 24 weeks after confessing to fraud and pleading guilty to making a false document.
Ms Mackay, a former Royal Navy rating, applied to be a capital projects administrator for the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. The qualifications needed included two A levels which Ms Mackay falsely claimed to have, at grade B in her written application. She was also asked to provide a reference from her previous employer, the Royal Navy, upon which she produced a forged letter signed in the name of her boyfriend, a chief petty officer, together with a forged Navy Discharge Certificate.
She was chosen over several other candidates, but after holding the job for nearly 14 months, she admitted to falsifying her application when she was challenged about her work performance. Ms Mackay admitted fraud by making a false representation about the A-levels and asked for 11 similar offences to be taken into consideration. She also admitted two offences of making a false instrument, i.e. the reference and the discharge certificate. She was jailed for 24 weeks.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development highlighted in a recent survey that a quarter of employers withdraw job offers after discovering someone has lied or misrepresented their application. The same survey revealed that a third of British workers admit to having lied on their CV.
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