No 6207
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Vol cxli No 11
pp. 289–312
19 December, Sunday. Michaelmas Term ends.
5 January, Wednesday. Lent Term begins.
12 January, Wednesday. First ordinary number of the Reporter in the Lent Term.
18 January, Tuesday. Full Term begins.
The Vice-Chancellor invites those qualified under the regulations for Discussions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 107) to attend a Discussion in the Senate-House, on Tuesday, 25 January 2011, at 2 p.m., for the discussion of:
1. University Council: Annual Report, 2009–10 (Reporter, 2010–11, pp. 215–18).
2. Annual Report of the General Board to the Council for the academical year 2009–10 (Reporter, 2010–11, pp. 219–22).
3. Reports and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2010 (Reporter, 2010–11, pp. 223–58).
On the recommendation of the Planning and Resources Committee, the Council has agreed to set up a voluntary severance scheme for University staff (employed outside Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press). Further details will be circulated to staff early in 2011, but the Council believes that colleagues will wish now to know of the intention to have such a scheme. It is envisaged that the scheme will be by application, and that acceptance of an application will be at the discretion of the employer.
The Council and the General Board have considered the remarks made at the Discussion of this Report on 26 October 2010 [correction: 12 October 2010](Reporter, p. 76). They have consulted the Human Resources Committee on the points raised in the Discussion and have agreed to respond as follows:
Professor G. R. Evans suggested that the Combined Equality Scheme could be used to try to override the powers of the Regent House in some future context. The Council and the General Board can see no basis for this comment, although they agree that best practice in this area indicates that any proposal that leads to a change in practice in the University should support and abide by equality and diversity principles.
Professor Evans also referred to the Dignity at Work scheme. The scheme was written in consultation with the Trade Unions and launched in May 2006. It provides for Dignity at Work Contacts who do not mediate between parties in conflict. The scheme offers confidential advice to those who feel that they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work, have witnessed bullying or harassment, or who have been accused of bullying or harassment. The Contacts give advice on the options open to such persons; they also give advice on support services available, such as Occupational Health or the Counselling Service.
In response to Professor Evans’s remarks on mediation and the training available for mediators, the Council and the General Board note that mediation is a well-established process for resolving disagreements in which an impartial third party helps two or more people in dispute to attempt to reach an agreement and find a mutually acceptable resolution. The University’s Internal Mediation Service (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/policy/mediation/) uses co-mediation which involves the allocation of two mediators per case.
Professor N. A. Dodgson requested information about the cost of the Combined Equality Scheme. The scheme identifies and formalizes current practice to ensure compliance with equality duties and responsibilities, and to maintain the University’s commitment to equality as expressed in its Equal Opportunities Policy (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 150). These functions have been established and have been part of the University’s activities for some time and while they do incur some direct and indirect costs for the University, these are already budgeted for. The Combined Equality Scheme therefore does not reflect any additional costs.
The Council, with the concurrence of the General Board, is accordingly submitting a Grace (Grace 2, p. 310) to the Regent House for the approval of the recommendations in the Report.
The University Computing Service is collecting any changes or new information that should be added to an updated version of the printed University of Cambridge Official Map (fourth edition), last printed in 2006. Any updates that have already been made to the online map (http://www.cam.ac.uk/map/) will be transferred automatically to the printed map.
Please send details of any features that are not on the online map, or any significant changes planned for 2011, to ucam-map@lists.cam.ac.uk by 15 December. Changes received after this date may not be included in the new printed map.