An employment tribunal ruled in favor of Prof Wyn Evans, a University of Cambridge whistleblower who had raised concerns about mistreatment of female staff at the institution’s Institute of Astronomy. Evans alleged that the department exhibited patterns of misogyny, with claims that women had been driven from their positions or subjected to hostile working conditions from senior academics.
The tribunal found that Cambridge’s response to Evans’s disclosures was severely deficient. Judges determined that the university subjected him to a prolonged investigation lasting nearly two years despite allegations containing insufficient detail and no corroborating evidence. The tribunal concluded the investigation was “baseless” and filed in retaliation, describing it as “likely malicious and vexatious.” Employment Judge Graham upheld 11 of 14 alleged detriments against the university or individual respondents, including Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice.
The judgment revealed problematic institutional practices within Cambridge’s administration. The tribunal found evidence of “ghostwriting,” whereby senior officials had documents prepared for them by HR or administrative staff and then presented these as their own work. In one instance, the person being complained about drafted the response rejecting the claimant’s complaints against them. The tribunal also rejected testimony from Vice-Chancellor Prentice, finding she had not authored her own response to Evans but instead had been presented with a prepared statement by then-university registrary Emma Rampton.
The tribunal determined that Cambridge “did not even want to consider” Evans’s complaints under its whistleblowing policy and operated under “an institutional mindset” that regarded him as a reputational liability. Judges concluded that many of Evans’s detailed concerns were dismissed without proper process, contrasting sharply with the extensive investigation launched against him.
The ruling comes during a period of institutional turbulence at Cambridge. The university is simultaneously facing calls for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Jason Arday’s 2023 appointment as the university’s youngest professor. Arday stepped down earlier this month amid allegations of plagiarism and CV embellishment. Evans has questioned whether Vice-Chancellor Prentice remains fit for office. Damages in Evans’s case are scheduled to be determined at a further hearing in January.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI