Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsDismissalEmployment tribunalsWhistleblowing

Employment tribunal hears allegations against Oxford business school

by Adam McCulloch 11 Sep 2020
by Adam McCulloch 11 Sep 2020 Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock

An employment tribunal was told yesterday that Oxford University’s Saïd Business School misled the government over a £1m leadership development programme. 

Whistleblower Elaine Heslop, an Oxford graduate who took a senior role at the school, claimed the scheme was simply “cut and pasted” from a course that had already been created.

She alleged the school misled the Cabinet Office over the origins of its “major project leadership academy” which was designed to build “the skills of senior project leaders across government”.

According to a report in The Times, Saïd charged about £934,000 for developing a bespoke programme, the tribunal was told. But, claimed Heslop, the Cabinet Office had been “materially misled”. She alleged that the leadership scheme was “almost identical” to an existing course at Saïd.

Tribunal cases

Teacher investigated over indecent images was unfairly dismissed

Latest employment tribunal stories

Latest unfair dismissal stories

XpertHR on unfair dismissal

Heslop has said she was sacked for raising concerns over the deal and is claiming unfair dismissal against the school and the university.

The scheme is billed as the “only government major project leadership programme in the world” with the UK government overseeing 143 projects, worth £455.5bn.

Heslop said that, through papers lodged with Reading employment tribunal, that she raised her concerns two years ago with Andrew White, an associate dean at the business school.

She told the court that she asked a team to investigate the intellectual property used for the leadership academy and told White she was “concerned that the Cabinet Office had been materially misled”.

The Times said that in her submissions, Heslop told White that she “felt sick” when she saw that the materials for the programme were “nearly all identical” to those developed for an existing course, a Masters in Major Project Management.

“It looked like a copy and paste job, despite the proposal and tender documents having stated that the [school] would ‘amend and adapt’ [the existing module’s] design and content,” she said.

Heslop also alleged that the business school had broken public procurement rules by offering the Cabinet Office a 20% discount. This, she alleged, could be construed as a “bribe”, to retain the contract.

The business school, White and the university deny any wrongdoing and reject the claim for unfair dismissal. They told the tribunal that Heslop had shown “a lack of leadership” causing a “breakdown in the relationship”.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The tribunal case continues.

HR Director opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more HR director jobs

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
Recruitment drive for thousands of Jobcentre Plus work coaches
next post
Civil Service union seeks return-to-office rethink as infections rise

You may also like

‘Polygamous working’ is a minefield for HR

14 May 2025

Apprentice with ADHD was fairly dismissed after lunch...

10 Apr 2025

Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever for sacking boss...

20 Mar 2025

Top 10 HR questions February 2025: Supporting employees...

4 Mar 2025

Up to 74,000 women forced out of work...

27 Feb 2025

Countess of Chester NHS chair resigns after damning...

17 Feb 2025

Officer fairly dismissed for not disclosing previous sacking...

11 Feb 2025

Balloon worker’s sex discrimination claim falls flat

7 Feb 2025

Met Police inspector sacked over WhatsApp messages

13 Jan 2025

Post Office fired and rehired IT staff on...

23 Dec 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+