Procedure for complaints of harassment against University staff
- The Procedure below applies in all cases where the person who is the subject of the complaint (the "subject") is a member of University staff. The Head of Employee Relations will have oversight of all cases, and will take the lead as appropriate in liaising with other parts of the collegiate University.
- Any complaints against college staff will normally be dealt with under the appropriate college procedure.
- The references in this procedure to the ‘head of department’ should be taken to mean the head of department, faculty board chair, head of division or their equivalent, or the person to whom any of these has formally delegated responsibility[1]. The references also apply where appropriate to the Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice-Chancellors and Registrar, and other senior University officers.
- Where the complainant is a student, support during this process will be provided by the Director of Student Welfare and Support Services’ office[2].
- Both parties to a complaint should be kept updated by the investigator, University HR or the department at appropriate intervals throughout the complaint.
- Time periods specified in this procedure may be exceeded where it is necessary to do so in order to ensure a fair outcome. In particular, time periods are likely to be exceeded in complex cases, where external specialist input is required, and/or where there are a large number of witnesses to be interviewed. All parties are expected to cooperate to ensure time periods can be met wherever possible.
- If a complaint falls across more than one University procedure, the University will deal with the matter as flexibly, fairly and proportionately as possible. In particular, if a student’s complaint relates to matters which fall within the University’s complaints or academic appeals procedures, there should be a discussion between the department and the Proctors’ Office regarding the most appropriate way forward, in consultation with the Head of Employee Relations. It may be appropriate for there to be either parallel or sequential investigations to avoid duplication or conflicting decisions. The complainant should be informed of the outcome of this discussion.