The publicity surrounding Paul Marshallsea, the Merthyr Tydfil man who was sacked after his employer saw footage of him wrestling with a shark as it threatened children in Australia earlier this year – despite being off work for stress since last April – need not damage his chances of finding work through an agency.

That is the view of agencies Recruiter has spoken to after the charity worker returned home from Australia to find he had been sacked. In a letter his employers said this was due to “the breakdown of the trustees’ confidence, and trust in you and your ability to perform the role”. 

Marshallsea and his wife, who has also been sacked, had both been given extended sick leave by the Pant & Dowlais Boy and Girls Club. 

Marshallsea told reporters: “What am I going to do now? There is not much call for shark-wrestlers in Merthyr Tydfil.”

Agency recruiters tell Recruiter that despite the circumstances Marshallsea would be treated no differently to anyone else. Shaun Horrell, branch senior consultant at Gap Personnel in Merthyr Tydfil, says he would be called in to the office just like any other candidate, where he would go through the normal screening process, followed by staff “accurately matching” him to suitable employers and jobs. This process would also take into account the stressfulness of those jobs, adds Horrell.

Sarah Knight, a director of charity recruiter Work Relief, tells Recruiter that Marshallsea “probably has as much chance of anybody else” of finding work in what she says is “just a tough market overall”.

Knight says she hopes that recruiters wouldn’t link Marshallsea’s CV with the recent coverage, allowing him “to get past that first stage, after which he could talk to people and explain his position. Most people are not going to be put off by his CV”, she adds.