Prof Jo Phoenix vs The OU - Employment Tribunal Thread 6

[ickky]

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

You may attend in person or remote viewing has been quite limited but you can request log in details from

Email [email protected]
Header should read
URGENT CURRENT CASE - Public Access Request - J Phoenix - The Open University - 3322700/2021

Ask for access link and pin and please give your name and address in the email as they check when you connect to the tribunal.

The clerk will ask you (in a private remote room) to put your camera on to verify, this involves looking at you, but no ID is needed. You may turn off your camera after this pointless and unnecessary process.

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
CW - Dr Christopher Williams, Senior Lecturer History
KS - Kevin Shakesheff. PVC for Research and Innovation
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
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 - twitter.com/tribunaltweets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thread 5 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4919223-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-5

Justin the Clerk getting arsey in the chat. "If you log off for no good reason, you won't be re admitted. Simple as that."

JD - I'm not used to paper

Already starting the distancing - hosting the research networks was a favour only

JD: I was providing a favour to the group. A big favour.

Justin the clerk says if anyone logs off from the hearing "for no good reason" then they aren't being readmitted.

Translation: We don't have the time to be monitoring this hearing all the time.

BC: in providing that favour you understood you shouldn't discrim

JD: sensitive area. needed to be careful. Controversial area

He did Dr Shapeshifter 'A big favour', apparently.

Here he is.
https://www.open.ac.uk/research/careers/academics/john-domingue

JD had a number of complaints about hosting, internal and external.

Hm. That line only works if sensitive to both sides as opposed to entirely about protecting one from experiencing heresy.

Possibly a daft Qn, but why did they need a professor to oversee a spot of webhosting?

BC: reads an email complaint to JD c what GC are trying to do - remove t rights in the UK, eliminating transgenderism

We need "controversial" on the bingo card in relation to thinking there are only two sexes, and you can't change one for the other. FFS

I don't think I he was directly doing the hosting but agreed they could have space on his server

JD wasting time, flapping paper

Reading the witness's statement, KMI held(hold?) a bronze award from Athena SWAN and they didn't want to lose that award. Hence the pushback.

(never heard of Athena Swan before, off to google)

JD I am a strong advocate of academic freedom.

He's a Man and Its A Very Important Job. Everything is AVIJ when you are a Man, and it requires Lots of Money to be paid.

JD still turning pp. Proving no good with paper

BC: reads email from Ms Farrell - this research is crap. Understand we can't stop people researching their bigotry

comparing GC beliefs to eugenics. ffs

BC: do you know their pronouns?

JD: X is a professsor

BC: their pronouns?

JD: he/him

This was bugging me yesterday. Is HBC saying that gender critical views are against the prevailing OU thought?

Yet another time said they were scared to discuss it on campus, and had to set up secret WhatsApp groups?

BC reading a lot of the complaints that the witness received, all complaining about the big meany GC bigots, dog whistles etc.

Athena Swan was originally set up to be about women.

Anthena swann was a great initiative to get women into stem and then became a way to raise levels of women in leadership roles. Then it became open to all who identify as women and has trans women telling women how to be leaders.