Ordinance on the procedure to be followed in connection with the hearing of a grievance from a member of academic staff (Statute 24 Part VI)

(1) A Grievance Committee shall be established by the Council in all cases where a grievance is lodged with the Vice-Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor does not deal with the matter informally. The Committee will either hear the grievance or receive a report from the Vice-Chancellor to the effect that he/she has dismissed or deferred the grievance under the provisions of paragraphs 33(3) and (4) of the Statute. In exercising his/her powers the Vice-Chancellor shall, where appropriate, seek to resolve the dispute through conciliation. Where such conciliation is not possible, the normal expectation will be that the matter will be referred to a Grievance Committee.

(2) The Registrar or his/her nominee shall be the Secretary to the Committee, to act on its behalf in the organisation and administration of the procedure. Where the Registrar is directly involved with the grievance, the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint the Secretary.

(3) The member of staff who made the written application for the redress of grievance shall have the right to present his/her case in person to the Committee and he/she shall have the right to be accompanied by a friend or representative at the meeting.

(4) The detailed procedure for the hearing of the grievance shall be determined by the Grievance Committee with the objective of dealing with the matter as expeditiously as possible, having regard to the interests of fairness and justice. Wherever practicable, grievance should be heard within 28 days, but the Committee shall have the power to defer, postpone or adjourn a hearing where it takes the view that there are good grounds for doing so.

(5) The Committee is also empowered to dismiss a grievance at any stage of the procedure where it comes to a view that the grievance is without substance.

(6) The member of staff and any other parties involved shall be informed of the date, time and place of the hearing not less than 14 days in advance. The Committee shall act through the Secretary to ensure that all documents that it considers relevant are available to the parties, as appropriate, at least 7 days before the hearing.

(7) Where the grievance involves allegations to the detriment of other members of staff, or of students of the University, they shall be made aware of the allegations as soon as practicable and given an opportunity to present evidence either orally or in writing to the Committee.

(8) The Committee shall inform the Council whether the grievance is or is not well found and if it is well found the Committee shall make such proposals for the redress of the grievance as it sees fit.