Matriculants, graduates and jobseekers these days find themselves in a very tough job market, and it may be tempting to ‘embellish’ or add a little bit extra to your CV to get the job. But the new National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act 2019, signed recently by President Cyril Ramaphosa, means you could get up to five years in jail for lying or misrepresenting your qualifications. The law also applies to social media – under the new law, lying about your qualifications on social media like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter could also lead to jail time. But what exactly counts as “lying”?
This is what the National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act 12 of 2019 says:
“32B. (1) A person is guilty of an offence if the person—
- makes or causes to be made a false entry in the national learners’ records database or the misrepresented or fraudulent register;
- is a party to the falsification and dissemination or publication of a qualification or part-qualification of any person or the records of the national learners’ records database or the misrepresented or fraudulent register; or
- with a fraudulent purpose, knowingly provided false or misleading information in any circumstances in which this Act requires the person to provide information or give notice to another person.”
Basically, what this means is that if you lie about having a qualification, misrepresent your qualification or help a friend or colleague lie about having a qualification, you are breaking the law.
Overstating a qualification, for example, saying you have a BCom degree when you actually have a diploma, is also considered a lie. The same is true if you didn’t complete your studies, and then lie and say you did on your CV. Even if you are just a few credits short of the qualification, legally you have not completed or received your qualification, and you are not allowed to say that you did. The best solution is to list your studies as ‘incomplete’, as this allows potential employers to still see that you have studied without the risk of being caught out in a lie.
Anyone can report you for lying on your CV – parents, friends, family, educators and employers who know you're lying – and you could find yourself in trouble. So make sure you stay on the right side of the law.
Tips:
- Lying about your qualification could get you a criminal record and jail time of up to 5 years.
- Lying about your qualification on social media is looked at in the same way as lying on a CV.
If you have a query, follow us on our Facebook page and ask your question during our next Live Q&A (the first Thursday of every month).
* This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. Names have been changed to protect identity.