Prof Jo Phoenix vs The OU - Employment Tribunal Thread 5

[ickky]

Started on 2nd October at Watford Employment Tribunal (Radius House, 51 Clarendon Rd, Watford WD17 1HP 01923 281750)

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URGENT CURRENT CASE - Public Access Request - J Phoenix - The Open University - 3322700/2021

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Abbreviations

JP - Jo Phoenix, Claimant (C)
OU - The Open University, Respondent (R)
J - Regional Employment Judge Young
P - Panel or panel member
BC - Ben Cooper KC, Counsel for C
JM - Jane Mulcahy KC, Counsel for R

OU Departments & Networks:

HWSRA - Health & Wellbeing Strategic Research Area
FASS - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
SPC - Dept of Social Policy & Criminology
KMi - Knowledge Media Institute
GCRN - Gender Critical Research Network

OU witnesses

PB - Dr Paraskevi Boukli, Former Senior Lecturer Criminology, Deputy Head SPC 2021-22
IF - Prof Ian Fribbance Dean of FASS
MW - Prof Marcia Wilson, Dean EDI, 2020-23
CM - Caragh Molloy, Group People Director 2019-23
LD - Dr Leigh Downes, Senior Lecturer in Criminology (in SPC), Academic Lead for EDI FASS 2019-21
PK - Peter Keogh, Professor Health & Society, Member RSSH
DD - Dr Deborah Drake, Senior Lecturer Criminology, Head of SPC 2018-21
CT - Catherine Tomlinson, Senior Student Advisor
LW - Louise Westmarland, Prof of Criminology, Co-Deputy Head SPC, 2018-21, Current Head SPC
JD - John Domingue, Prof of Computing Science, Director KMi, 2015-22
CW - Dr Christopher Williams, Senior Lecturer History
SD - Shaun Daley, Head OU’s Resourcing Hub. Head Strategic Resources, Co-Chair OU’s LGBT+ Staff Network
HBC - Helen Bowes-Catton, Lecturer Social Research Methods
NS - Nicola Snarey, Assoc Lecturer Eng Language
NatS - Natalie Starkey, Outreach & Public Engagement Officer Sch Physical Sciences, 2019-22
CT - Cath Tomlinson, Senior Student Advisor
SJ - Samantha Jacobson, Employee Relations Case Manager
RH - Richard Holliman, Prof Engaged Research, Head School Environment, Earth & Ecosystem Sciences, 2019-22. Member of Investigation Panel investigating the C’s grievance

Witness for JP:

SE - Sarah Earle, Professor Modern History Uni of Oxford, Founding member GCRN

Tribunal Tweets - https://twitter.com/tribunaltweets

TT coverage so far - tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/professor-jo-phoenix-v-the-open-university

Prof Jo Phoenix Witness Statement (scroll to bottom of page and download)

https://jophoenix.substack.com/p/phoenix-v-open-university?sd=pf

Thread 1 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4905118-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-2nd-october-whispers-ben-cooper?page=1

Thread 2 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4913946-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-2?page=1

Thread 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4917480-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-3

Thread 4 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4918479-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-4

KS: I don't remember if I was aware.

BC: had you seen a draft of the statement

KS: don't remember

BC: would have been astonishing if you hadn't. Were meeting daily with the group

JM has queried BC's chronology of statement so ignore dates above

It is not feasible that a statement would go out without his knowledge. And if it did then someone's head should have rolled.

More transamnesia

KS I think really really wants to say 'you're right, you've got us bang to rights' but he can't because that would be career suicide. He's a man having to dance a line of pretending what we all know happened didn't really happen if you squint really hard and look at it sideways and pretend bullying actions identify as nice.

They tried to appease the TRAs at the same time as maintaining a fig leaf of 'well the GCRN still exists' (even though it now has leper status and is shoved in the back broom closet).

BC: If it was pub on 24 you must have know about it by the 29th

KS: I don't know when weekends fell, what else I was doing

BC: statement was a call on the OU to discrim

KS: it depends on the reason for the request to withdraw. Could have been procedural errors on setting up of GCRN - that wouldn't have been discrim but a technical point

KS - I don't know when I would have known about it, when weekends fel etc etc

Oh here we go. Busy/Christmas/Holidays/drove into a bin time.

I'm going to start using 'hullaballoo' more regularly.

KS: GCRN is an open network for anyone to join so not discrim agst GC

BC: people were objecting cos saw network as comprising GC. That's obvious.

KS: there's a lot in the letters. That's technical

He is not going to get out of this on that technicality.

I must admit these threads are doing wonders for expanding my vocabulary

@RethinkingLife no swearing in ceremony with your trouser leg rolled up. just expected to adhere to them.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2

BC: c calling for boycotts. Your reaction again is to say I'm not going to stop you.

KS: networks are voluntarily formed and disbanded, [nothing to do with me guv.]

BC: You could have said take statement down, can't leave SRA and boycott cos that's discrim and harassment.

KS keeps coming back to 'it was just a network', not a GC network. Despite that being literally what it said on the tin.

BC: Do you not agree that what they were asking for to happen was clear attempts to isolate, exclude and make members feel unwelcome.

KS: But members of GCRN could be anyone in univ

BC: everyone knew it was only 6 people

KS: I didn't know, website didn't say that the list on website was a complete list

BC: we've been round the houses, you've given your answers, I'll make submissions to tribunal re quality of them

BC - We've been round the houses with your answers. I'll make submissions about the quality of them.

😂

no swearing in ceremony with your trouser leg rolled up. just expected to adhere to them

I literally need to sign-up to them for each and every separate committee/panel/working group in which I participate in addition to my day-to-day work. We need to make declarations before every meeting and then update them at the meeting in case anything happened in the intervening week/48hrs/overnight.

I can't fathom that this isn't common practice. Nolan would cover a lot of these matters as well as adherence to policies, academic freedom etc.

At this point in time they're discussing you'd have to be absolutely mad to join the GCRN even if your research is on binary sex in mammals (and its evolutionary history). So it was going to be 6 identifiable people, because everyone else would be scared off.

Given it was open to everyone why didn't those opposed join and debate rather than boycott? Bullying is the answer.

BC: you were focused on possible harm caused by GCRN and not considering the harm to them

KS: I disagree

Nearly lunchtime Ben 👍

What a lovely way to tell someone their pants are smoking and everyone can see it

Have we lost audio?

BC: Reads - VC exec found formation of GCRN was okay re academic freedom though some members of univ found it distressing. No mention of distress to GC members

KS: yes

BC: focused on harm by not to GCRN

KS: I disagree

BC: All my qs