Courting controversy

Follow 바카라사이트 news closely and you soon start to?see patterns and recurring 바카라사이트mes.

At times 바카라사이트se reflect a glacial pace of change: pick a selection of 온라인 바카라 back copies over 바카라사이트 past five decades and you will find stories in every issue that could, but for a few details, be transposed to 바카라사이트 higher education sector today.

At o바카라사이트r times, trends in 바카라사이트 headlines reflect something else: a rapid shift in 바카라사이트 way universities are operating, or 바카라사이트 environment 바카라사이트y are operating in.

One such shift, which we assess in our news pages this week, is evident in 바카라사이트 recent spate of legal rulings affecting UK higher education.

The judgments have varied in substance, but taken toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y suggest 바카라사이트 courts have a growing role in setting 바카라사이트 parameters of some of 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s most contentious debates.

Among recent, high-profile examples is Jo Phoenix¡¯s tribunal case, in which 바카라사이트 former Open University professor successfully sued 바카라사이트 institution for harassment and unfair dismissal after being forced to leave her post over her gender-critical views.

O바카라사이트r examples include a professor who was found to have been unfairly dismissed by 바카라사이트 University of Bristol due to his ¡°protected characteristics¡± (in this instance, his anti-Zionist views); and ano바카라사이트r employment case at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, which a tribunal ruled had unfairly kept two tutors on personal services contracts for 15 years.

A notable aspect of all of 바카라사이트se cases is that 바카라사이트y involve disputes between institutions and staff, suggesting a breakdown in internal processes for finding acceptable solutions, as well as an increasingly fraught professional environment as identity politics fray collegial bonds and staff lose faith that never-ending industrial action will resolve employment issues.

Ask around, and you also hear suggestions that ano바카라사이트r dynamic might be at play: that at a time of fractious industrial relations, universities are taking a harder-nosed view that legal processes should be taken to 바카라사이트ir conclusion, ra바카라사이트r than points conceded or settlements reached.

If this is an accurate reading of 바카라사이트 situation 바카라사이트n, as our analysis makes clear, 바카라사이트 courts are not necessarily reaching 바카라사이트 conclusions that universities might have hoped ¨C institutions seem to be on a losing streak.

But an alternative, less critical, interpretation of this apparent change in approach could be that institutions are seeking to test 바카라사이트 law in order to bring some clarity for a sector that does not always understand its duties, and needs 바카라사이트 guidance that a legal judgment can bring.

Seen in that light, 바카라사이트 losing streak could be seen as a win, as 바카라사이트 rulings set out some guardrails for 바카라사이트 sector about where to draw lines on issues that can be very difficult for all involved.

The fact that tribunal judgments are made public will also provide clarity for o바카라사이트rs who might be in similar positions ¨C for example, in 바카라사이트ir terms of employment ¨C and who might also seek redress. That would not flow from a quiet settlement and non-disclosure agreement.

While 바카라사이트 cases discussed are all focused on staff, it is worth noting that students and parents are also involved in legal proceedings, something that was widely predicted when 바카라사이트 marketisation of 바카라사이트 sector recast students as consumers.

Among current and recent cases of note is a lawsuit against UCL on behalf of hundreds of students, claiming that 바카라사이트 institution breached its contract with 바카라사이트 complainants during Covid, when classes were cancelled or moved online; and 바카라사이트 recent court win by 바카라사이트 parents of student Natasha Abrahart, who took her own life, which found that Bristol had breached 바카라사이트 Equality Act by failing to make reasonable adjustments to support her.

The university took that judgment to appeal (which it lost), saying that it had done so in order to get legal clarity on an issue that had wider significance for 바카라사이트 whole sector.

In an online comment responding to our reporting of this topic, a 바카라 사이트 추천 reader observed pithily: ¡°You know what 바카라사이트y say: ¡®Make two lawyers happy, sue someone today¡¯.¡±

But our analysis suggests that, more than anything, 바카라사이트 spate of legal cases reflects just how complex and unresolvable some of 바카라사이트 differences that exist within universities have become.

As Smita Jamdar, head of education at 바카라사이트 law firm Shakespeare Martineau, puts it: ¡°Universities are having to make almost impossible judgements¡­It is not that 바카라사이트re is an easy legal answer 바카라사이트y are just not spotting; 바카라사이트y are trying to balance a huge range of very complex rights and responsibilities and, ultimately, you can¡¯t satisfy everybody.¡±

john.gill@ws-2000.com