Mary Dezille 
 
Administrative  Officer 
Mr Bruce Beckles 
 
 
 
by email 
Secretariat 
 
 
Ref: FOI-2009-04 
20 January 2009 
 
Dear Mr Beckles, 
 
Your request was received on 8 January 2009 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the 
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).  
 
Please find below your request, followed by the University’s response. 
 
You asked: 
 
“Please provide me with any rules, regulations or policies regarding the making of a 
verbatim record [1] of an appeal, grievance, disciplinary, etc. hearing in the University 
that were in effect on the dates given below. Please also supply me with any rules,   
regulations or policies regarding the use and/or presence of stenographers (or 
individuals in a similar role) at appeal, grievance, disciplinary, etc. hearings in the 
University that were in effect on the dates given below: 
 
     27 February 2008 
     20 May 2008 
 
(If the relevant rules, etc. were the same on both dates then supplying them once with a 
statement to this effect is sufficient). For the purposes of this request the term "appeal 
hearing" should be understood to cover appeals against the outcome of the recent 
“assimilation to the new grading structure and single salary spine" exercise, as well as 
any other meaning which the University may ascribe to this term. For any such rules, 
policies, etc. that were in effect on the above dates please also provide the following: 
 
     - Details of where the rules, policies, etc. are documented (e.g. where in the Statutes 
or Ordinances of the University, in which minutes of the Personnel Committee, 
etc.); 
 
     - The date on which the rules, etc. were agreed; and 
 
     - The date on which the rules, etc. were promulgated to the University at large. 
 
University Offices 
The Old Schools 
Cambridge CB2 1TN. 
 
 
Telephone: 01223 764142 
Fax: 01223 332332 
E-mail: [email address] 
 

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 [1] By "verbatim record" I mean an exact record of everything that is said at the 
hearing, such as might be made by a stenographer or court reporter. Note that the 
University may use some other term to describe such records.” 
  There are no rules, regulations or policies that govern whether or not an interview can be 
recorded. The appeal process, agreed with the unions, does not cover the minutiae of how 
things should be done but the principles are well understood. The appeal is not a legal 
process and the principles of open discussion, impartial judgment by trained appeal 
members, including union members, have prevailed in every other appeal heard under the 
single salary spine.  
 
 
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to 
make a complaint or request a review of this decision, you should write to the Administrative 
Secretary, quoting the reference above, at the Secretariat, The Old Schools, Cambridge, CB2 
1TN.  If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to 
the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner 
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the 
University. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information 
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. 
    
 
 
 
 
Yours Sincerely,  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mary Dezille 
 
 
 
 
 
University Offices 
The Old Schools 
Cambridge CB2 1TN. 
 
 
Telephone: 01223 764142 
Fax: 01223 332332 
E-mail: [email address] 
 

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