Television show The Apprentice has set a bad example by allowing a contestant who lied on his CV to reach its final, according to an employment expert. 

In Sir Alan Sugar’s BBC One show, contestant Lee McQueen claimed that he had attended university for two years.

But it was discovered in the semi-final that he had only attended the institution for four months before quitting.

Sir Alan did not punish the lie, sacking a fellow applicant instead. McQueen will now battle to win the prize of a £100,000 per year job in Wednesday’s final (June 11).

However, Ian Besant, head of employment at Wright Hassall, has warned applicants that making exaggerated claims or lying on a CV places them at risk.

“It is quite a foolish thing to do because if a person gets hired through false information, they will either lose their job or greatly damage their reputation,” Ian said.

“Legally, it depends on how instrumental the claim was to a person getting a position.

“If the main reason someone has been hired is because of a claimed qualification or skill, and it is discovered to be made-up, then an employer has the legal right to dismiss them.

“But if the false claim was not a condition of getting a job then there is not the same legal privilege to dismiss someone.

“However, even if the employer decides that the lie is not significant enough to sack the person, it places a serious doubt in their mind over whether they can fully trust their employee.”

McQueen is up against three competitors in The Apprentice finale, which offers a high-profile position in the businessman’s empire.

Sir Alan decided that his strong performance during the show made  the false claim partly irrelevant – but expressed concern that he had lied.

Ian added: “Once an employer has lost the ability to trust someone, the opportunities for that individual within an organisation will become limited.

“So it is important that when people submit applications they are truthful because it protects against a job loss or damage to a reputation if the person has been employed.

Wright Hassall is a 200-strong law firm based in Leamington Spa.

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