Man who changed name on CV claiming racial discrimination

Jo Faragher

A man is claiming racial discrimination against the airline Virgin Atlantic after he says he was rejected for a job interview because of his unusual name and ethnic origin.

Max Kpakio, who was born in Liberia, was not invited to interview for a call centre role by recruiters until he changed his name to ‘Craig Owen’ on his CV, an employment tribunal heard. He is seeking £55,000 in compensation. Virgin have denied discrimination.

Mr Kpakio is a British citizen with a degree in international relations, and after suspecting his unusual name had led to him being rejected for the role, he reapplied using the false name of Craig Owen. He was immediately invited for an interview.

He told the tribunal: “The CV and the equal opportunities form clearly identified me as someone not born here, not schooled here and a black African.”The reason I was rejected was because of my ethnic origin – because I’m black African.”

However, lawyers representing Virgin Atlantic claim that the two CVs were different, with the ‘Craig Owen’ CV including supermarket experience that had not been present on the other application.

In 2011, the Government introduced measures attempting to reduce name bias in recruitment. Companies that sign up to the ‘social mobility business compact’ agree to ‘recruit openly and fairly ensuring non-discrimination, including increased use of name-blank and school-blank applications’.