Life Robinson Private Hospital would like to warn the public that the number of fraudulent advertisements are increasing.
The warning follows a number of scam advertisements for vacant positions placed on the internet using Life Healthcare hospital names. Life Robinson Private Hospital is one of the targets. This scam involves using these hospital names with the aim of soliciting money from potential job-seekers.
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“The hospital carries the community’s interests at heart and therefore we want to warn community members to not be part of this scam,” said Dr Marinda Overbeek, the hospital manager.
How does it work?
The fraudulent advertisements are predominantly placed on recruitment websites or job portals where Life Robinson Private Hospital’s name is used to advertise both genuine and fictitious vacancies. In some instances, applicants are requested to make an upfront payment as part of their application, often as much as R4 000. Once applicants have paid the fee, they receive no further feedback and are unable to contact the person who posted the job advertisement.
“Over the past 12 months the hospital industry has become aware of fraudulent job offers, but we have seen a marked increase in these postings over the past few weeks.
Job-seekers who apply for hospital positions and are subsequently requested to make a payment upfront should not part with any money as this is not how we recruit new employees,” said Juliet Mhango, Life Healthcare’s HR Executive.
Dr Overbeek told the Herald the hospital uses a strict formal procedure and strategy when posting vacant positions. They also make use of the correct lawful way to post these positions.
“We will not ask any money from the public if a position is advertised and we will not make use of a cell number as a contact number. All available positions can be confirmed on our website and contact details of personnel at the hospital are also available there,” said Melanie van Staden, marketing and communications co-ordinator.
Life Healthcare encourages job-seekers to report these fraudulent adverts to the webmaster of the online portals where the advertisements were posted and also to open a case at the local police.
What to look out for in a potentially fraudulent job advertisements:
• The enquiry contact number is a cell number since landline numbers are “out of order”
• A fax number is provided as the only contact method
• The application form requests banking details
• Payment may well be requested upfront for administration purposes and uniforms
• No face-to-face interviews are requested
• Posts do not use the hospital name in full; for example, the advertisement will state ‘Robinson Hospital’, rather than ‘Life Robinson Private Hospital’
• While the position itself may well be an existing vacant position at Life Healthcare, the application process is not legitimate.
• If in doubt, job applicants should contact the HR administrator of the hospital in question to clarify whether the hospital has advertised posts on a particular career or recruitment website.
“We are really concerned about this situation and we want to make sure that the community receives the treatment they deserve. Nothing hurts me more than to see an applicant coming in to inquire about a position, only to realise the person has been scammed,” said Dr Overbeek.
Should potential candidates wish to apply for a legitimate Life Healthcare position, please visit the careers web page at https://www.life.co.za/Careers/.
People who have been affected by the scam can contact the Herald’s journalist, Nadine Maré at nadinem@caxton.co.za.
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