Picture this: a recruitment agency so enamoured with its own diversity credentials that it can’t see the forest for the trees. Michael Page, part of the illustrious PageGroup, loves to tout its commitment to inclusivity. They’ve got the badges, the initiatives, the glossy PR statements. But when the rubber meets the road, when a candidate like me – a bloke with a mental health condition – comes knocking, their true colours show. And let me tell you, those colours are shit brown.
Here’s the deal. I submitted a Subject Access Request to Michael Page on March 5, 2025, hoping to uncover the truth behind my discrimination case against Cepac Limited. I’d applied for a job through them, disclosed my mental health condition, got offered an interview and then asked more about my condition, and then I suddenly got ghosted. Now, I’m slugging it out in tribunal, and that DSAR was supposed to be evidence and, by way of what’s hidden, still is. What did I get back on April 7? A steaming pile of documents so heavily redacted they might as well have been written in invisible ink. It’s not just a fuck-up; it’s a deliberate attempt to bury evidence that could make or break the case. By hiding behind Article 15(4), they’re not just being cagey – they’re shielding their business partners at Cepac Limited while screwing any semblance of diversity, inclusivity or equality. Business partners first, inclusivity last.
And it gets better. In their infinite incompetence, they sent me another candidate’s CV by mistake. A full-on data breach, and when I pointed it out, they didn’t even have the balls to notify the poor bastard whose privacy they’d just shat all over. So much for their “responsible data handling” spiel. It’s a masterclass in how to cock up a DSAR while pretending you give a damn about the people you’re meant to serve.
Michael Page loves to plaster their website with diversity porn – “Ability@Page,” Disability Confident Employer, Time To Change pledge, you name it. But this behaviour? It’s performative as fuck. They’re happy to wave the inclusivity flag when it’s all smiles and photo ops, but when there’s a quid on the line, when standing up for someone like me might cost them a client or a contract, they fold faster than a cheap suit. They’re like every other corporate hypocrite out there: diverse until it costs money. The second there’s a whiff of financial risk, their DEI promises evaporate like piss in the wind.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is sniffing around this mess, investigation ongoing. I’m not holding my breath for a quick fix – the wheels of justice grind slower than a hungover line cook – but I hope they’ll drag Michael Page’s shady arse into the light. Maybe then, someone will hold these bastards accountable.
For now, I’ve got a little something for them. In recognition of their stellar work in the field of shithouse recruitment, I hereby award Michael Page the inaugural “Shithouse Recruitment Agency of the Year Award” from The Cummins Accountability Project. We’ll be happy to forward on their prize – something appropriate for shithouses. Think of it as a token of our esteem.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project