I believe feynman had summed it nicely.

But just to add, what is the objective of this exercise TS?

If it is integrity that you are worried about, any red flags from your conversation with their references? You are not worried their degree/SPM certs are also fake? See how this open a can of worms?

If its a question of money, which I think it is, when u saw their pay is really above the market, why wasn't this raised during the interview? Could have angled the question nicely by asking why they are leaving despite being in the high paying end and if they are ok with receiving the same or lower salary at your company? An even easier way to explain the plausibility is if the candidates had jumped from multiple companies before, which might resulted in the higher end pay (e.g. 30% raise per jump) if the company their coming from is not the market leader. If both metrics fail to explain their payslip salary, then maybe need to probe more. Or is it they meet the condition above but your company are actually part of the lower end and it pains you to acknowledge it?

I don't think lowballing is inherently bad as its part of negotiations, you have your idea what their salary should be, they have theirs. So state yours firmly and IMO, if they accept (i.e. lower their pay) without getting other intangible benefits, this is more of a concern and their push factor(s) really need to be checked to explain their desperation or you risk doing the recruitment again in a few more months.

Lastly, you mention that their stated pay is likely 35% higher than what your mutual friend thinks they are actually getting. Firstly, is your mutual friend doing the same job scope as with these 2 candidates? Anything their ex bosses say with regards to their 'star status' at work which could explain their substantial yearly pay rise? Their company profit each year they work there?

If too hard and much hassle, ask yourself if the -35% from the payslip figure something reasonable and within your company natural wage structure (i.e. assume they start their career with you, and increase their salary for each year of working experience, as per skillset/performance that they have). Then add the % that you normally give to other candidates to induce the jump and hopefully that fits your budget.

Hope this gives you the bullets needed when you have to explain to the target departments why you had to turn the 2 candidates down which I think would be more palatable as compared to the 'I believe they faked their payslip' line of argument. Best of luck TS!

This post has been edited by likeazit: Oct 5 2021, 01:48 AM

Bahagian C already got taxable income, no need see YTD tax amounts lah. Accumulated PCB paid can be different depending on the company FYE, cos after that, its bonus time. Last time my company change bonus payment from Dec salary to Jan, suddenly Jan PCB I pay so freaking high (bonus + Jan new salary + other incentives etc) like LHDN think every month i get the amount, then each subsequent month PCB gradually reduce and I claim back a lot next year during tax return time. If TS see my accumulated PCB in April, he will think I 20k celery /k level already.

Also Nota 1 and Nota 3 where got say you need submit the TP3 to LHDN (unless requested). TS expect to freely email LHDN and expect they will reply to confirm the accumulated PCB? If the applicant really crooked, he will just lie on the Bahagian C to reflect his fake salary, and pay more tax during next year tax return time or get more PCB cuts from TS company, cos after all he already got the extra cash from TS's company haha. If kena tax audit, he will just say he put higher C1 cos got other outside employment on top of the salary from previous company, and its an honest mistake, but even then, the penalty stated it is on the tax amount undercharged, but silent on the overstatement of taxable income. I doubt LHDN would care and instead say thank you for paying extra tax only.

Worse case is that the TP3 copy is only given to majikan (Nota 1 & 2). What if the candidate fill, but then you reject them later cos you cant afford their salary. They can sue saying 'reasonable expectation' that they got the job, cos they already give TP3 to TS. What now? Better discuss with your legal department lah TS.

This post has been edited by likeazit: Oct 5 2021, 01:26 PM

Actually my close friend got. Earned around RM2k a month doing translation work for tour websites overseas and research work, and the next year become lecturer in Malaysia uni cos finished PHD, now getting RM7k+ like that. Received the market rate for lecturers because she is capable, qualified and with proven skillsets during the interview.

This is why anyone would even bother to do self-improvement. Make sure the interviewer have the right skillset and understanding of the business to fully challenge the candidate, instead of just assuming they are liars. Call them out with evidence, like a good HR would.