Two administrators at a UK university were the subject of an internal investigation after a private conversation they had on campus was secretly recorded by a colleague,?Times Higher Education?can reveal.

Nottingham Trent University carried out an investigation last year ¡°in relation to the inappropriate content of a conversation¡± that took place between two members of staff, according to documents seen by?É«ºÐÖ±²¥. The recording was ¡°brought to [the university¡¯s] attention¡± by a third named employee.

Maggie-Lou Gamble, a former pre-award coordinator at Nottingham Trent¡¯s research office and one of the employees who was recorded, said that in April 2018 she ¡°had to go to an investigation panel and explain the conversation in its entirety, in addition to the context of the conversation¡±, which took place with her then manager.

She said that the conversation ¡°relayed sensitive information relating to the person who recorded us¡±, including details of the person¡¯s health and their level of job security.

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É«ºÐÖ±²¥?understands that the conversation took place in an office?that was shared by Ms Gamble¡¯s manager and other senior staff.

The university concluded that ¡°no further action¡± would be taken against Ms Gamble, noting that while the content of the conversation was ¡°inappropriate...it is recognised that you were a junior colleague and that you did not instigate the conversation¡±.

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Ms Gamble submitted her resignation at the start of October, but was not required to attend work during her three-month notice period.

In the meantime, she was offered a position at another UK university, and asked Nottingham Trent to provide a reference. In December, she received a WhatsApp message from her manager, seen by?É«ºÐÖ±²¥, which read: ¡°You won¡¯t be getting a reference from NTU. That¡¯s life. You reap what you sow.¡± A reference was subsequently provided by another member of staff at the institution.

Ms Gamble told human resources in December that she wanted to raise a formal internal grievance against her manager but claimed that staff did not send her the necessary paperwork or notify her that they were having trouble contacting her by phone. As a former employee, she is no longer able to raise a grievance.

¡°I feel that this employer has not treated people fairly,¡± Ms Gamble said. ¡°This monitoring has no place in a higher education institution, where free speech and a right to private life, which extends to a working environment, should be protected.¡±

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A spokeswoman for Nottingham Trent said it would be ¡°inappropriate for us to comment on individual cases¡±.?

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com