Many employers failed to double check that the qualifications submitted by job candidates are genuine. The common law entitles employers to know all facts about a prospective employee that are relevant to a job application. That is, the employee is obliged to:
•Divulge information relevant to the decision to appoint where it is clear that the employer requires such information
•Answer certain questions truthfully
•Desist from exaggerating job qualifications
For example, where an employee applies for the job of a driver he/she would be required to divulge that he/she does not have a driver’s license.
Generally, job applicants are required to answer relevant questions truthfully during the screening process. However, what is relevant is a matter for debate. For example, a job applicant may well be able to claim that she was not obliged to answer truthfully a question as to whether she was pregnant because this has nothing to do with her ability to do the work. He employer might then argue that the maternity leave would interrupt the continuity of the job. However, the employer would then need to prove that the job required continuity and that no alternative interim measure could be implemented to solve the continuity problem.
It is not enough for the employer to prove the employee guilty of misrepresentation. The employer must prove that honesty is an essential requirement

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