Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
Statute U
ACADEMIC STAFF

Chapter I

CONSTRUCTION, APPLICATION, AND INTERPRETATION

1. This Statute and any Ordinance made under this Statute shall be construed in every case to give effect to the following guiding principles, that is to say:

  1. (a)to ensure that members of the academic staff have freedom within the law to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs or privileges;
  2. (b)to enable the University to provide education, promote learning, and engage in research efficiently and economically;
  3. (c)to apply the principles of justice and fairness.

2. No provision of this Statute shall enable any member of the academic staff to be dismissed unless the reason for the dismissal may in the circumstances (including the size and the administrative resources of the University) reasonably be treated as a sufficient reason for dismissing the member concerned.

3. This Statute shall apply:

  1. (a)to the Vice-Chancellor to the extent and in the manner set out in Chapter VII of this Statute; and
  2. (b)to every person who holds any of the other University offices specified or referred to in Statute D, I, 1(a), except the offices of Chancellor, High Steward, Deputy High Steward, and Commissary.

In this Statute any reference to academic staff is a reference to the persons to whom this Statute applies.

4. In this Statute the terms ‘dismiss’ and ‘dismissal’ refer to the dismissal of a member of the academic staff, and include remove or, as the case may be, removal from office, and, in relation to employment under a contract, shall be construed in accordance with section 55 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978.

5. For the purposes of this Statute the term ‘good cause’ in relation to the dismissal of a member of the academic staff, being in any case a reason which is related to conduct or capability or qualifications for performing work of the kind which the person concerned was appointed or employed to do, shall mean:

  1. (a)conviction for an offence which may be deemed by a Tribunal appointed under the provisions of Chapter III of this Statute to be such as to render the person convicted unfit for the performance of the duties of his or her office or for employment as a member of the academic staff;
  2. or(b)conduct of an immoral, scandalous, or disgraceful nature incompatible with the duties of the office or employment;
  3. or(c)conduct constituting failure or persistent refusal or neglect or inability to perform the duties or comply with the conditions of the office;
  4. or(d)physical or mental incapacity established under the provisions of Chapter IV of this Statute.

In relation to a member of the academic staff, the term ‘capability’ shall mean capability assessed by reference to skill, aptitude, health, or any other physical or mental quality, and the term ‘qualifications’ shall mean any degree, diploma, or other academic, technical, or professional qualification relevant to his or her office or position.

6. For the purposes of this Statute dismissal shall be taken to be dismissal by reason of redundancy if it is attributable wholly or mainly to:

  1. (a)the fact that the University has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the activity for the purposes of which the member of the academic staff concerned was elected or appointed, or has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on that activity in the place in which the member concerned works or worked;
  2. or(b)the fact that the requirements of that activity for members of the academic staff to carry out work of a particular kind, or for members of the academic staff to carry out work of a particular kind in that place, have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish.

7. (a) In any case of conflict, the provisions of this Statute shall prevail over those of any other Statute and over those of any Ordinance, and the provisions of any Ordinance made under this Statute shall prevail over those of any other Ordinance; provided that Chapter III, Chapter IV, and Chapter VII of this Statute shall not apply in relation to anything done or omitted to be done before the date1 on which the instrument making these modifications was approved under subsection (9) of section 204 of the Education Reform Act 1988.

(b) Nothing in any appointment made, or contract entered into, shall be construed as overriding or excluding any provision made by this Statute concerning the dismissal of a member of the academic staff by reason of redundancy or for good cause; provided that nothing in this subsection shall invalidate any waiver made under section 142 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978.

(c) No one shall sit as a member of any of the bodies established under this Statute, and no one shall be present at a meeting of such a body when the body is considering its decision or discussing a point of procedure, except as provided by this Statute or by Ordinances made under this Statute.

(d) The provisions of Statute B, VI, 23 shall apply to any notice required by this Statute, or by Ordinance made thereunder, and the provisions of Statute B, VI, 7, 21, 22, 24, and 25 shall apply to any proceedings before the University Tribunal or the Septemviri.

(e) In this Statute references to numbered Chapters, sections, and subsections are references to Chapters, sections, and subsections so numbered in this Statute.

Footnotes

  1. 1. This date was 15 July 1993; see the preface to the edition of 1995.a