Lie on your resume to make it appear richer in work experience and increase the chances of being hired can be very risky. It is not just a question of making a bad impression, after being discovered by the boss or the human resources employee, but also of behavior that cannot, in any way, be excused or forgiven and which, therefore, leads straight to dismissal for just cause. The Rome court clarified this with the sentence no. 10463 this year.
The case of the stewardess fired for writing lies on her CV
The facts are emblematic and immediately suggest that what you should never do to obtain an employment contract. Without carrying out any probationary period, a woman had been hired on a permanent basis as a stewardess for an airline. The immediate transition to stabilization had occurred precisely by virtue of the professional experience declared in your CVin emails and in conversations with managers.
However, from subsequent checks carried out by the company, these experiences proved to be non-existent. The employee had lied about his career path to get hired and obtain a position that would otherwise have belonged to another person.
In particular, after signing the contract, in order to obtain the crew member certificate, the woman had signed a declaration in lieu of certification, required by law. The document mentioned the carrying out of work activity at the same company, for more than one ten years.
Precisely this circumstance revealed itself impossibleconsidering that at that time the company was in the extraordinary administration phase. He was therefore not in a position to enter into any fixed-term contract.
Not corresponding to the truth, the woman’s pre-employment declarations paved the way for disciplinary proceedings against her and the company contested the violations that emerged in a clear and specific way.
Pinned down by the established facts and without any possibility of defending herself, the worker found herself forced to admit her faults. Having irremediably compromised the relationship of trust, the employer proceeded with the dismissal for just cause.
The court’s ruling: illegal and bad faith conduct
The maximum disciplinary sanction was contested by the woman before the territorially competent labor judge. In the courtroom, the Court of Rome confirmed the correctness of the disciplinary complaint, compliance with the procedure established by law and the decision adopted by the company.
For the Capitoline judge, there was no doubt about it dual responsibility in game. On the one hand, in fact, it highlights appearance objective of the conduct – the fact itself – but on the other hand that also stands out subjectivei.e. the voluntariness and seriousness of the lie.
Cases like this are so serious that it is not even necessary for the disciplinary code to be posted. When a behavior is patently illegaland perceivable as such because it is contrary to the ethical minimum, to criminal regulations or to civil, legal and collective contract duties, the worker already knows – or should know – that that conduct is prohibited.
Ignorance and, even worse, the bad faith they are not excusable in any way.
This is why the possible non-publication of prohibited behaviors and sanctions in a company code does not at all determine the nullity of the disciplinary sanction, as the worker claimed.
Lying on your resume always gets you fired
By issuing the sentence no. 10463the Capitoline labor judge was very clear. Lying in your CV, indicating courses never taken or qualifications, masters, specializations or diplomas never obtained, can cost you your job. And it doesn’t matter if the contract has already been signed: expulsion is well justified even long after hiring in the company.
Cases like the one seen above always lead to the irreparable breakdown of the relationship of trust in the company. These are false declarations that violate the principles of good faith, loyalty and diligence contained in the Civil Code.
With this ruling, the judiciary took the opportunity to underline some fundamental and valid principles for a plurality of similar cases:
- il disciplinary dismissal it can be inflicted not only for the violation or breach of contract in the strict sense (for example failure to respect working hours or failure to carry out assigned tasks);
- behaviors previous or external to the contract and the employment relationship can make the worker unreliable.
What (not) to write on your CV
Here is what to pay attention to before signing an employment contract, in the middle of the selection phase.
Never write data not corresponding to the truth or not demonstrablebecause false statements and lies (even slight ones), beyond the possible criminal implications, always lead to expulsion from the workplace through disciplinary dismissal.
To avoid unpleasant surprises it is therefore always essential to provide truthful, correct and easily verifiable information, remembering that the transparency in the pre-hiring phase it is the first prerequisite for establishing a lasting working relationship based on mutual trust.
