Cambridge professor wins tribunal after exposing alleged staff bullying

A professor at the University of Cambridge has won an employment tribunal against his employer after alleging misogynistic bullying against female staff within the university’s Institute of Astronomy.

Wyn Evans, a professor of astrophysics, told the tribunal in June that he had witnessed a “bad history of misogyny” within the Institute of Astronomy.

He highlighted multiple examples of the alleged mistreatment of female employees, claiming that one woman had been “hounded out of a job,” another had been left “a frightened woman,” and a third had encountered “aggressive professors” in the department.

Wyn Evans also gave emotional testimony regarding the suicide of a female colleague, which he linked to the institute’s “terrible record of support” for female staff members.

During the tribunal, it was revealed that in July 2021, Evans had raised concerns via email that a female employee in the department was in a “fragile state of mind” due to what he referred to as a “personal vendetta” of Professor Richard McMahon, the then head of department, against her. Evans claimed that this had led to the woman fearing she would be made redundant, causing significant distress.

Following these allegations, Professor McMahon accused Wyn of wrongdoing. Rather than his concerns being taken seriously, Wyn was subsequently subjected to a two-year investigation by the university. The tribunal found that this occurred despite the allegations against him containing “scant particularisation, and no evidence to support them”.

Due to this, judges ruled that the grievances were made in retaliation against him and were therefore “likely malicious and vexatious”. The tribunal found a clear pattern of the university trying to shut down complaints made by Wyn in a bid to protect itself from reputational damage.

The tribunal also criticised processes within the university, particularly the tendency of senior figures to rely on HR and administrative staff to make decisions and prepare correspondence on their behalf.

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For example, despite Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice claiming that she had drafted the response to Evans with assistance from university registrary Emma Rampton, it was found that Rampton had in fact written the entire response. The tribunal added that Prentice  had “very little to do with it, save for putting her name on it.”

In another instance, a response rejecting Wyn’s complaints was drafted by the person that the complaint was about.

Ultimately, 11 of the 14 complaints made by Wyn against the university and senior figures within it, including the Vice-Chancellor, were upheld.

Judges unanimously ruled that he had suffered detriments for making protected disclosures, which is in breach of the Employment Rights Act 1996. They also found that the disclosures made by Evans were in the public interest.

Following the ruling, Wyn Evans spoke out to question Prentice’s fitness for office, saying: “Cambridge University has lost the whistleblowing tribunal, with vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice among the respondents found to have retaliated against a whistleblower. That comes on top of serious concerns about her leadership during the Jason Arday crisis. Taken together, these events raise a fundamental question: is Deborah Prentice actually in control of the university she is supposed to lead?”

In a statement, the university said: “We acknowledge the employment tribunal’s judgment of 10 August 2026 and are carefully reviewing it. We will now take time to reflect on the findings in detail.”

Damages in the case are due to be decided at a remedy hearing in January next year. These will include the amount of compensation that Evans is owed.