Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy had ‘a bad history of misogyny’. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer View image in fullscreen Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy had ‘a bad history of misogyny’. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer University of Cambridge University of Cambridge whistleblower who reported alleged bullying wins employment tribunal Prof Wyn Evans, who raised concerns over treatment of female staff at Institute of Astronomy, was subject to ‘baseless’ investigation, judge rules
Prefer the Guardian on Google A University of Cambridge whistleblower who alleged bullying of female staff inside the university’s Institute of Astronomy has won a tribunal against his employer.
Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that the institute suffered from “a bad history of misogyny”. He claimed that one woman in the department had been “hounded out of a job”, another was “left a frightened woman”, and a third had faced “aggressive professors” at the institute.
The tribunal found that after raising concerns, Evans was “subjected to a prolonged nearly two-year investigation by the university”, even though the allegations against him “contained scant particularisation, and no evidence to support them”.
The tribunal said its job was not to “conduct a public inquiry into alleged bullying or misogyny within the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge” but concluded it was “satisfied that the claimant genuinely believed that there was a problem within the institute about the way female administrators were being treated”.
It found that Cambridge “did not even want to consider” Evans’s complaints under its whistleblowing policy, and described “an institutional mindset” that viewed the professor of astrophysics as “a source of difficulty and continuing reputational risk due to his protected disclosures which might damage the institute and the university”.
The judgment comes at a torrid time for senior leaders at Cambridge, where academics are calling for an independent inquiry into the processes and circumstances that led to Jason Arday being appointed as the university’s youngest professor. Arday, who was appointed in 2023, stepped down earlier this month amid allegations of plagiarism and embellishing his CV.
View image in fullscreen The investigation into Prof Wyn Evans after he made his complaints was ‘baseless’, ‘filed in retaliation’ and ‘likely malicious and vexatious’, the tribunal ruled. Photograph: Sophia Evans/The Observer After the tribunal in Bury St Edmunds, Employment Judge Graham found serious failures in the university’s handling of complaints by Evans, with 11 of 14 alleged detriments upheld against the university or individual respondents including the vice-chancellor.
The investigation into Evans was found to be “contrary to natural justice”. The tribunal ruled it was “baseless (as nothing had been provided to support it) and it had been filed in retaliation … and was therefore likely malicious and vexatious”.
“By contrast, a number of the claimant’s detailed concerns or complaints were dismissed out of hand without a proper process,” it said.
The tribunal also concluded that senior figures at Cambridge relied on correspondence and processes prepared for them by HR or administrators.
The vice-chancellor attended the tribunal in person in June and claimed that she had drafted a response to E…