I think that's it

I thought that I would have the time to recommence posting. That, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be working out.

I will be leaving these posts up for a while -- while the universityworkplace.com domain name lasts.

Many thanks to those who have taken an interest.

Regards,

Bill

Gray and the duty to invent

[This is not legal advice, but it is about a legal case: University of Western Australia v Gray.]

To get you into it, I’ll quote from the Australian Copyright Council’s thumbnail:

The University of Western Australia failed in a claim that intellectual property developed by an academic staff member was owned by the University and that the employee’s interest in a company commercializing the IP was held on trust for the university.

The court found that the assumption by the university that there was an implied term that it owned intellectual property was not well founded; the university was not authorised by its enabling Act to make regulations which purported to vest ownership of all intellectual property developed by its academic staff in the university....

UWA appealed the decision, but was knocked back.

Challenging the notion that there’s a duty to invent, this decision changes the IP landscape in regard to patents in Australian universities. In response, it appears that many universities are scrambling to get this genie back into the bottle.

You might see these university efforts manifested in new language in appointment letters, grant applications or other research documents. I’ll be suggesting some responses in future posts; but in any case, you need to contact your Union if this arises for you.

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

—Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)

Hiatus

I’m back at it.

I can blame some of the time away on a crashed hard drive at work (even though I write this blog at home). In any case, it was pleasant to escape posting on a fortnightly basis.

I’m not going to promise a frequency for the future, but I do have a few topics planned.

They said, no church approves of

gay or lesbian marriage;

I said, mine does.

They asked, what church is that?

And I said,

the Church of the Dignity of all Men and Women.

There are, unfortunately, a few empty pews.

—Yllib Ybnad (b. 1948)

Holding the bag

From time-to-time, a member will tell me that he or she has demanded of their Head confirmation of a direction, "in writing."

Avoiding the blame for an action that seems to be both inappropriate and involuntary is the most common motivation.

First, the bad news: In general, you don't have the right to demand that instructions be made (or confirmed) in writing. But maybe it isn't so bad: After all, if the boss authors the tale, who do you imagine will emerge as the hero in that telling? Here's a hint, it won't be you.

The good news is that you're free to confirm the instructions with a missive saying, for example:

Dear Boss,

As you directed, I ordered the desk for your office this afternoon. And, as you indicated, I reflected the expense as "other" (as the amount exceeds the desk policy limit by $7,216.48).

Similarly, if you're directed to sign a dubious document (thereby shouldering the responsibility for its doubtful accuracy), you might want to add a note, "Signed on instructions from Joe Bloggs."

Such tactics, however, should be preceded, if possible, by polite advice about your concerns.

Finally, there are times when it's necessary to refuse a direction. Such situations, while rare, are serious; so, will be discussed here in the future.

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

—Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

Outside work

I don't have a problem with the idea that a university is entitled to have the full attention of its full-time staff.

There are, however, two situations where I am not happy:

1. Where authorisation for outside work is by grace and favour — and it's inequitably doled out; and 
2. where the school or faculty is happy for staff to wear their fingers to nubbins, if it's in the service of a "consultancy" where the university takes an inordinate share of the proceeds followed by the faculty taking an inordinate share.

I don't think that there are simple solutions to either circumstance.

Regarding #1: Challenging any entrenched system of favouritism is difficult — at best. At worst it's 'bug on the windscreen' time. A potential hurdle is that the beneficiaries of the inequities may take personal offense to the challenge of the inequitable system. At its worst, staff members opposing the inequities may be subjected to bullying and harassment (and mobbing).

Item #2, however, has within it some more tractable elements. It must be remembered that work expectations for consultancies where the University is getting its cut(s) are simply workload matters. Full credit must be attributed to that work.

These few comments hardly provide a template for addressing the problems of outside work. If confronted by such matters, contact your union for tailored advice.

You do not win by struggling to the top of a caste system,

you win by refusing to be trapped within one at all.

—Naomi Wolf (b. 1962)

Back of the truck

In a recent (non-university) case in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, an employee dismissed for allegedly passing "in confidence" bargaining strategy documents to his union sought reinstatement.

In the decision, Deputy President Ives made it clear that:

The Applicant’s explanation to the effect that as, in his view, the material that he passed to the [union] concerned or affected him and that he was, as a consequence, somehow relieved of any obligations relating to the maintenance of confidentiality is, at the least, misconceived and in no measure does it mitigate liability for his actions.

The termination was not overturned.

From time-to-time I'm approached with suggestions that there are management documents that I might like to see—

If it isn't public, hasn't been sent to me, hasn't been sent to a member, and it's clearly confidential, then I don't want see it. There are other ways and I don't want anyone's neck stuck out.

The matter of Godwin Grech and the email didn't motivate me to address this topic. That situation also offers a cautionary tale to those who receive such material.

It wasn't too long ago that public universities were, relatively, open books. That time seems to have passed. More and more matters seem to be decided behind closed doors. That, in turn (Freedom of Information and Right to Information Acts notwithstanding), has led to a view that unless disclosure is specifically authorised, then it's prohibited. That, however, is a topic for another day.

Beware of the person who can't be bothered by details.
—William Feather (1908 - 1976)

The Dead Parrot

No matter how plainly an employer obligation, duty or prohibition is enumerated, there will be managers who will deny their applicability to the most obvious facts. (I can't seem to get Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch out of my head — "it's restin'... it's stunned...it's pinin' for the fjords". Nice plumage, though.)

Denying the obvious is a tactic older than industrial relations itself. The Python's sketch will be 40 this year. And denial is certainly not new in the university sector. What I think is new, however, is the seeming willingness of some senior academic officers (i.e. Deans and above), to play the game. (Vice-Chancellors, happily, still seem to refrain.)

I haven't noticed an apologetic demeanor — sometimes seen in human resources staff. It's as if it's a proof of authority to be able to bring reality itself to heel.

This is my very subjective impression, but it seems to me that while only a few years ago senior officers sought to remain above the industrial fray; the current trend (albeit a shallow slope) seems to be in the other direction.

Previously insulated by the protections of WorkChoices and other regulations of the sector, some may have failed to notice that, occasionally, those who play the denial card find a inconvenient bump at the end. "Truth will out"?

Sometimes.

At a picnic nobody cares that you're a
four-star chef de cuisine —
if you're the guy that forgot the sandwiches.
—Yllib Ybnad (b. 1948)