Formal Notification of Trade Dispute over the College’s failure adequately to safeguard the welfare, wellbeing and safety of staff, its mishandling of complaints procedures, and its failure to protect academic freedom

Dear Professor Kapur,

We are writing formally to notify you of a trade dispute between King’s College London (KCL) and the University and College Union. This dispute arises from the College’s failure to adequately safeguard the welfare, wellbeing and safety of staff, its mishandling of complaints procedures, and its failure to protect academic freedom.

Grounds of the Dispute

The dispute relates to the following issues, which fall within the definition of a trade dispute under s244 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992:

Terms and Conditions of Employment:

• Staff have been subjected to a hostile working environment due to the College’s mishandling of complaints procedure, and its failure to protect academic freedom and to address instances of harassment.
• This has allowed the formation of unsafe physical and psychological working conditions for staff, in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Equality Act 2010 and the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.

Machinery for Negotiation or Consultation:

• The College has so far failed to engage meaningfully with UCU on the Union’s demands for the safeguarding of staff and for an independent review into the processing of politically motivated complaints.

Actions Required to Resolve the Dispute

To resolve this dispute, we require the College to take the following actions:

1. Safeguard staff who have been targeted for their pro-Palestine positions by taking immediate steps adequate to the assessed levels of risk to their personal safety, including the use of the College’s disciplinary procedures to prevent any further harassment.
2. Issue a clear public statement reaffirming the College’s commitment to academic freedom, anti-racism, and the protection of its community from intimidation, harassment and discrimination.
3. Commission an independent investigation of the mishandling of the complaints procedure and the broader issues of harassment, intimidation, and academic freedom.

We trust that the College will treat this matter with the urgency and seriousness it deserves. Failure to address these issues will leave us with no choice but to escalate this dispute, including the consideration of industrial action.

We look forward to your prompt response and a plan of action to resolve this dispute.

Yours sincerely,