Do basic pre-employment checks before confirming offer

A recent employment tribunal ruling highlights the importance of having a robust recruitment and selection process.  Only after an airline pilot started a position as a captain with West Atlantic UK Limited did the airline discover that he had lied on his application. Not only had he provided a false reference from a false email address he also had no previous experience as a captain. As an alternative to dismissal for gross misconduct, West Atlantic offered him the opportunity to resign ‘with immediate effect’, which he accepted.

However, he subsequently issued a claim for three months’ contractual notice pay, which West Atlantic refuted and counterclaimed for £4,725, the costs it had incurred in training him.

The employment tribunal dismissed the claim for notice paystating that the employer had arranged training based on his alleged experience. Had the airline known that he had no experience as a captain they may not have hired him and sothey succeeded in claiming the training costs. However this was a costly exercise which could have been avoided had they taken some precautions to minimise risk: