A brutal article by journalist Katherine Griffiths is just out in Bloomberg, exposing the utter failure of Oxford University to deal with harassment and bullying. Seven women have alleged rapes or sexual assaults across the university in the past five years, while more than 30 described direct experiences of sustained Read more…
A UK University has been using gagging orders to silence victims of sexual harassment at Employment Tribunals, as noted in The Times and discussed here. In 2021, Al Jazeera carried out a landmark investigation into sexual harassment at the University of Oxford. This forms parts 1 and 2 of their ‘Degrees of Abuse‘ Read more…
The University of Cambridge astonished everyone yesterday with this posting here We would like to provide an update on senior leadership positions in the University. Following recent changes and ongoing transitions, the University has decided not to proceed with the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer at this time. Read more…
(Image of Paula Vennells is public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.0) The Post Office Scandal is the defining event of 21st century Britain. Between 1999 and 2015, about 1000 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for theft because of faults in the Post Office’s IT accounting system. The Post Office Read more…
Athena SWAN is run by Advance HE. Universities pay fees to Advance HE for assessment, application and renewal of the Athena SWAN accreditation. Advance HE is a company limited by guarantee (as well as a registered charity). The company is owned by two bodies of the higher education sector – Universities Read more…
(Video clip from Googlebox, hat-tip to Plashing Vole on BlueSky) “Have you ever betrayed anyone?” “Well, I work in HR” “So, yeah” This video clip is for anyone working in UK universities.
The 21 Group has long argued that the University of Cambridge needs an independent Ombudsman to address serious abuses. At present, the University does not have an Ombudsman. Instead, it relies on a Board of Scrutiny (BoS). Although the BoS does not possess the same authority or powers as an Ombudsman, it can nonetheless conduct Read more…
Following last week’s diary entries on the impact of bullying on a young academic, this week another victim from Cambridge University steps forward to speak out. In this instance, the mistreatment of the early career researcher has been reported to the pro-Vice Chancellor for Community and Engagement. He has failed Read more…
Nothing surprises us about university HR departments any more. Last week, The Times and Personnel Today reported an extraordinary story. A famous UK university, which is currently implicated in a case involving allegations that a senior professor sexually harassed a female colleague, has been granted complete anonymity by an Employment Read more…
Too often, the voices of those who have suffered bullying in Universities go unheard. Their pain is hidden behind a culture of fear and silence. Their experiences are dismissed by the very systems and people who are meant to protect them. The 21 Group has published the experiences of victims Read more…