Cambridge University accused of staff bullying ‘cover-up'
The University of Cambridge has been accused of 'covering-up' a culture of staff bullying.
The allegation was made after it emerged that most staff members were not satisfied with how bullying and harassment was handled in a survey carried out in January 2024.
The survey, obtained by the Observer, showed that just 27 per cent of staff were happy with the university's attempts to combat bullying and harassment.
Fifty-two per cent said that their department supported their mental health and wellbeing.
The results caused astrophysicist Prof Wyn Evans to break ranks and claim that university bosses were presiding over a 'cover-up' of the results.
'This survey reveals a grim culture of bullying and harassment, yet the most shocking thing of all is that the university found this out a year ago and hasn't taken any action,' he said.
An 'internal crisis'
Prof Evans claimed that Cambridge would be reluctant to touch 'a senior academic... valuable to the university because they hold a lot of research grants bringing in a lot of money', adding: ' If there is a grievance, it will be discarded.'
The academic added that the university was facing an 'internal crisis' of bullying and that it needed a chancellor who would push for 'sweeping reforms'.
Prof Evans is seeking nominations in the upcoming election of Cambridge's new chancellor on an anti-bullying manifesto, and leads the 21 Group which campaigns against bullying and harassment in academia.
When approached for comment, a university spokesman told The Telegraph: 'We take concerns about bullying seriously, and we strongly encourage anyone who experiences such behaviour to report it.
'The university strives to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment where all staff feel valued.'
They added that it is supporting departments to take action and has recently introduced a new code of behaviour.
The university declined to release surveys for some of its departments under Freedom of Information requests, it was reported. However, the Observer noted particularly concerning results within science departments.
In the Medical Research Council toxicology unit, 69 per cent of staff who responded disagreed or strongly disagreed when asked if they were happy with how bullying was addressed.
This statistic was also high within the pathology department (61 per cent), the Cavendish laboratory of physics (58 per cent) and at both the oncology department and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (50 per cent).
This is not the first time there have been allegations of staff bullying at Cambridge.
In 2020, a similar survey carried out by Unite, Unison and the University and College Union revealed that nearly a third of staff had experienced bullying and harassment in the workplace.
At the time Will Smith, a secretary at Cambridge's Unite branch, claimed bullying had been an issue for years, and had pushed for the survey as there were no signs of it being tackled.
The 2024 report had a response rate of 23 per cent, and the university says it is aiming to 'to increase participation in future surveys to ensure a more comprehensive understanding of staff experiences'.
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