High unemployment rates are causing more people than ever to lie on their CV, while pay freezes and squeezed living standards are leading greater numbers of staff to steal.
According to an analysis of its staff fraud database by the UK’s fraud prevention service, CIFAS, the amount of successful job application fraud rose by a massive 450% in the first half of this year, while the number of unsuccessful attempts at such activity increased by 129%.
A 52% jump in the overall amount of internal employee fraud was also noted. This figure included a 24% rise in dishonest actions and a 53% surge in the theft of customer data.
Arjun Medhi, CIFAS’ staff fraud adviser, warned: “As people feel the pinch, organisations must be aware that staff are working harder than ever, often for smaller rewards, going without recognition or adequate recompense.”
This situation often generated resentment, which could lead some people eventually to “resort to fraud out of a sense of entitlement or misguidedly perceiving no other way to support themselves”, he added.
As a result, it was imperative for employers to keep an eye out for signs or indications that workers were in financial trouble and to invest in better fraud prevention, Medhi said.
Financial struggles
Elsewhere, data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed that just less than two out of five staff members were struggling to make ends meet, while 38% were worried about not having enough money for day-to-day spending.
Despite this situation, 73% of the more than 2,000 workers questioned for the summer 2012 Employee Outlook focus said that they were offered no form of support or advice from their employer to help them manage their finances more effectively.
Charles Cotton, the CIPD’s reward adviser, said: “A little financial education can go a long way. It can improve performance by giving employees the means to alleviate stress and pressure they’re under because of financial difficulties.”
But it could also help to boost motivation and staff retention rates by providing employers with a vehicle to get across the value of the financial benefits that they offered and help workers understand the business pressures that they faced, he added.
Among those employees who were offered advice or support, meanwhile, employee assistance programmes were the most common (13%). This was followed by access to an independent financial adviser (7%) and the provision of workshops on financial self-management (4%).
As a result of this situation, the CIPD has released an employers’ guide entitled ‘Workplace Financial Education’, based on a study of the learning and development activities offered by a number of organisations such as GSK, Marks & Spencer and Severn Trent.
