Woman who lied on her CV receives prison sentence

A woman who lied about her A levels and forged employment references has been given a six-month jail sentence.

Rhiannon Mackay applied for a £23,000-a-year role as a Capital Projects Administrator for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.  The role required two A levels and Mackay claimed to have two B-grade A levels.

When asked for a reference from her previous employer, the Royal Navy, she provided a forged one along with a fake Navy discharge certificate.

Although was given the job and carried it out for over a year, the falsifications came to light when she was eventually challenged by managers who raised concerns about her performance.

Mackay confessed to fraud and to making a false instrument (the false reference) and discharge certificate. The court heard that she had also applied for 11 other roles using fraudulent information.

Mackay’s lawyers said she had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Last week, Hasan Tahsina, a senior manager who worked for 19 years within the NHS was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and to perform 200 hours of unpaid community work for fraud, after he lied about qualifications and membership of professional bodies.

Research last year from HireScores suggested that 69% of employees have lied to get a job.