Roger, Wilce - over and most definitely out...

Stephen Wilce

Ok, so it's actually Roger, Wilco, over and out - in strict aviation parlance - but I suspect if Stephen Wilce was in an aeroplane, there would have been some people within the New Zealand Defence Force who would have cheerfully pushed him out!

Generating headlines such as: Head scientist quits over CV claims; Top Defence official faces probe over CV claims; and Key demands urgent investigation on Wilce, amongst others - the New Zealand Defence Force's hiring of a man whose CV was not in fact as it seems, has thrust the organisation, and candidate and employees CVs, into the limelight again.

I'm a firm believer that if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

But I'm an equally firm believer that there are some instances, and hiring new employees is one of them, where appearances may be deceiving and it really is worth investing the time to check that things really are as they seem.

Mr Wilce's CV apparently reported that he was a member of the British bobsleigh team in the 1980s.

He apparently also held a distinguished military record with the Royal Marines.

These things should be relatively easy to check - thanks to our friend Mr Google.

That said, I do agree that the issue of 'googling' applicants for a role, or searching for them on Facebook (particularly if it is done without their prior consent or knowledge), is a more difficult issue.

Indeed, in those circumstances you shouldn't necessarily believe everything you read, as there have been instances of people setting up false Facebook accounts for people or adding false information.

But in a case where an applicant submits a CV for consideration for a role, as a potential employer you have a clear right to check the validity of that information.

If you don't, you may find you have only yourself to blame. Or, in the case of Mr Wilce, your recruitment consultants...

At the New Zealand Law Society employment law conference, which was held recently in Auckland, a senior QC practicing in the areas of criminal and employment law remarked that the area of employment law is often undervalued by the legal profession, when in fact it is at the cutting edge of the correlation between the law and human psyche.

What this constantly reminds me is that employees will never fail to surprise in their actions.

Whether it is storing cockroaches in their lockers or making comments on Facebook - employers are entitled to expect high standards from their employees, but should also ensure they are vigilant in checking that things really are as they seem.