In a reminder that HR professionals are not above the law, one senior NHS manager in Devon has just received a suspended prison sentence for lying about her qualifications.
Kerrie Devine was a senior HR manager at East Devon Primary Care Trust (PCT) between 2003 and 2006, but had to reapply for her post after the PCT was absorbed into a newly created Trust covering the whole of the county.
Devine, who had been on sick leave for an extended period of time, was found to have submitted an inaccurate application when she expressed her interest in taking a new job with Devon Trust in March 2007. The discovery followed an investigation undertaken by the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
Devine falsely claimed to hold a degree in human resource management and a certificate in marketing from Oxford Brookes University as well as a Chartered Institute of Marketing advanced certificate from Swindon College. She also claimed to be part of the way through a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development course.
Exeter Crown Court handed her a six-month suspended sentence, ordered her to pay £9,600 in compensation and to undertake 150 hours of community service.
