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Should I expose my colleague?
Comments
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are you sure there is NO way he could have gone there? What about if he has changed his name? You are probably right about him. But, if you expose it and you're wrong, it will be hard to live that down.0
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Careful with your expose you could be wrong. You may think you have covered all bases but if you are wrong the trouble that will potentially rain on you could be massive.
Your boss isn't stupid I am sure and will be aware of his personality same as you are. If they are ignoring it then perhaps there is a reason, maybe his cunning ways push you all on to be competitive and work harder. Maybe clients like him maybe there is something he brings that you are not aware of.
I am on the other side in that I employ people. If someone came to me with a rumour of such and such employee has lied on their application I would be obliged to look into it. So what would I do, I wouldn't want to spend time on it if their work was ok. We are governed by a body so I would just check their list for his name - but if you are not then I wouldn't bother contacting a uni I am sure data protection would prevent them telling me whether he does hold X qualification or not. So I would have to ask for his certificates or proof of qualification. I can't discriminate so I would need to ask all employees to do the same. And then after all that you are wrong, how cross would I be with you.
If he is a bully and people have left because of that then why have they not informed the employer? If you have evidence of bullying use that, personally I would avoid qualification accusations.0 -
The boss doesn't seem overly impressed with him! I actually think he'll p*%# enough people off all by himself without me adding to the mix.
If he's just a colleague, it's not really your place to interfere.
Your boss should be the one who is considering the impact this person is having on the rest of his staff.
I think if you 'outed' him, it may backfire on you.
You won't be able to prove what you've found out about him unless you reveal your 'sleuthing' and tbh, if I was working with someone who'd been ferreting around in another colleague's background, I'd feel very uneasy about trusting you.0 -
I think there are a lot of variables here.
In relation to the bullying, it can be very hard for an employer to take action if the victims are not willing to say anything. As employers, we had a situation a little while ago where staff members were unhappy with a collegaue but refused to make any formal complaint. We had not directly witnessed any inappropriate behaviour, which made it very dificult to take action.
So if you have witnessed or been the victim of bullying, document and report so that your employer can take action.
In relation to the degree, I would not report this unless you are 100% certain he is lying. However, you could say something to him (maybe in Boss's presence..) e.g "When was it you were at [universtiy] - that's where I went, I wonder if we overlapped? Did you ever study with [name of your mate]?"
It is of course possible that he was there, but that he has changed so you don't recognise him, or that he was there but has lied about something else - maybe his age, so tha the dates are not accurate.
If he did lie, and if the boss is getting fed up with him, then the boss may welcome you letting them know about your suspicions, as a lie of that kind would probably allow them to dismiss him if they want to.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
I would ignore the degree; that's not why he's an awful colleague.
Keep a record of all bullying, offensive comments, and when he takes credit for work that's not his, and anything else that makes him difficult to work with. Keep it factual and concise.
Unless you work in the company's HR or the university's Registry you are not going to be in full possession of the facts concerning his qualifications, and unless a specific degree is required for the job it's not relevant.They are an EYESORES!!!!0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »I'd go down this route .... simply "innocently" making him feel very uncomfortable, hoping it'll at least make him less tiresome to me ... with the added bonus that I'd get a nice warm feeling inside knowing "I know you're a liar ... and you don't know I know ... and now you're squirming and I feel GOOD about that".
Agree with you both - but make sure it's done in front of lots of others! If he's always going on about it, it'll be very easy to keep him on the subject. Get a list of questions in your head. Tutors, classrooms, layout, where he stayed - halls / which road. Bars/clubs in the area. Obviously make a few up, see what he says.
Jx2024 wins: *must start comping again!*0 -
The place where I went to university had changed beyond recognition within 5 years of me leaving, let alone 15. I was talking to a colleague who went there about 12 years after me and we didn't even recognise the buildings we were each talking about (and we did very similar courses, in the same faculty). I also can't think of a way that you can prove whether someone attended or not without access to records you shouldn't be looking at. I couldn't even prove whether my best mates from uni went there and we spent every day together for 3 years.
If an employee came to me with tales of fraudulently researching a colleague's education, I know which one I'd mark down as the trouble maker.0 -
I'd hang onto these details, Karma is a wonderful thing and will return to bite him on his bum! Bank the info you have save it ' for later' just knowing is useful.Life is like a bath, the longer you are in it the more wrinkly you become.0
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I would also go down the innocent questions route. You cannot be sure he wasn't there under another name (adopted name, step parents name, mothers maiden name, etc). I wouldn't come out with it blatently. From his responses you will know whether he is lying, and he will know you know. At that point he will become worried and may well decide to look for another job.0
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If you are determined to expose him about the degree, why not start a conversation in front of others 'Joe said you were a Mudchester Uni - do you remember the statue of an elephant outside the union / those stupid rules about not walking on the grass / that pub with the drug dealing everyone went to ?" etc etc and see how comfortable he is to chat about it0
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