{"id":63461,"date":"2024-04-01T17:21:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T17:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/a-warning-to-employers-in-south-africa"},"modified":"2024-04-01T17:38:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T17:38:31","slug":"a-warning-to-employers-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/a-warning-to-employers-in-south-africa","title":{"rendered":"A warning to employers in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa has seen a rise in scandals surrounding the appointment of individuals with fake qualifications.<\/p>\n

From \u201cTikTok doctors\u201d giving medical advice to economists and city councillors to top appointments in government, fake qualifications have impacted almost every sector in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ease with which these unscrupulous fraudsters get through the appointment process is worrying,\u201d said employment law experts at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Jose Jorge, Alex van Greuning and Caitlin Freddy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe harsh reality is that most [employers] do not conduct a proper due diligence of candidates when appointing employees [as they] simply take a candidate\u2019s purported qualifications at face value and do not use any sort of verification process,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adverse consequences of these types of appointments can be severe, not only to an employer but also the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, \u201cthe SABC was hollowed out over several years, during a certain CEO\u2019s tenure [while] PRASA misspent hundreds of millions of rand buying trains that were too high for the local rail network.<\/p>\n

These institutions had in common the appointment of individuals who falsely claimed to have qualifications that they did not,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Currently, the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Act requires employers to verify that a candidate\u2019s qualifications are listed on the national learners\u2019 records database before hiring.<\/p>\n

If qualifications are not listed, employers are required to consult the South African Qualifications Agency (SAQA) for verification. SAQA is tasked with reporting any fraudulent or misrepresented qualifications to the appropriate professional body.<\/p>\n

It is an offence (contravention of the NQF Act) to knowingly provide false or misleading information, which carries a penalty of a fine and imprisonment not exceeding five years.<\/p>\n

As a result, employment experts say that employers must \u201cseriously consider their recruitment processes\u201d and consider the possibility of introducing a formal verification process.<\/p>\n

The advice is that employers should verify qualifications, particularly for foreign or unfamiliar institutions, by using accredited agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe advise all employers both in the public and private sectors to consider verifying their current and future employees\u2019 qualifications through the verification agencies whose contact details are available on the website of Umalusi,\u201d wrote the council, which sets and monitors standards for general and further education, Umalusi.<\/p>\n

The council has continued to warn about the rise in fake qualifications either bought from fraudsters or received through unaccredited private institutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn illicit industry has built up around this type of fraud,\u201d explained the employment experts.<\/p>\n

They suggested that in interviews, employers should focus on competency-based questions to assess a candidate\u2019s experience and knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more technical or specialised positions, employers may consider having candidates take some form of practical assessment,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Finally, employment contracts and policies should explicitly state that falsifying qualifications is unacceptable, \u201cand the consequences of such misconduct should be clearly stated.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa has seen a rise in scandals surrounding the appointment of individuals with fake qualifications. From \u201cTikTok doctors\u201d giving medical advice to economists and city councillors to top appointments in government, fake qualifications have impacted almost every sector in the country. \u201cThe ease with which these unscrupulous fraudsters get through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":63460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-63461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nA warning to employers in South Africa - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa has seen a rise in scandals surrounding the appointment of individuals with fake qualifications. 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