{"id":172450,"date":"2025-01-24T04:14:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T03:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/fyrede-eksamensvagter-staevner-ku-kraever-millioner-i-erstatning\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T09:52:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T08:52:38","slug":"dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he University of Copenhagen (UCPH) is now embroiled in a major conflict with a dismissed corps of exam supervisors.<\/p>\n

75 of the former staff feel that they have been treated so poorly by UCPH that they have sued the university for DKK 6.1 million, citing lost earnings and breaches of contract.<\/p>\n

The case is scheduled to be heard in the Copenhagen District Court in March.<\/p>\n

The dispute involves missing contracts, confusion over employment conditions, and questions about pay supplements.<\/p>\n

After a six-month standoff, the entire supervisory corps was collectively dismissed in October 2022. This followed a protracted process during which UCPH, according to the former supervisors, acted unreasonably. All of the exam supervisors are retirees.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIt is disgusting. Simply disgusting, and frankly appalling to treat a group of employees who have been so loyal, running exams during the pandemic, often risking their own health. And then to do this \u2014 this is outrageous,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent, who acts as spokesperson for the former exam supervisors.<\/p>\n

The University of Copenhagen has declined to comment on the case until a verdict has been reached.<\/p>\n

Deteriorated working conditions<\/h3>\n

The conflict began on 25 March 2022, when the exam supervisors received an email from the former management of the examination office at UCPH, thanking them for their significant contributions, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

On the same day however, several of the exam supervisors received a letter from the HR department on South Campus that gave them notice of a significant worsening of their conditions of employment. These included the removal of overtime and weekend pay supplements. Additionally, their employment would be defined as only during their shifts at the university. This meant they would automatically be dismissed after each supervision assignment.
\n
\nThe new, worse conditions of employment, angered the exam supervisors, who considered the communication both deeply unacceptable and legally invalid.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI wrote back to UCPH and said that this was legally untenable and needed to be redone. Plain and simple,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n

In response, a meeting was quickly convened among the exam supervisors. At this meeting, a negotiation committee was set up, led by Vilhelm Kent, with the mandate to represent the 75 exam supervisors.<\/p>\n

Truce during exam season<\/h3>\n

On 10 June 2022, a meeting was held between the negotiation committee and representatives from the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n

During the meeting, UCPH representatives maintained that they had no mandate to negotiate, as the university was bound by a 2005 government directive from the former Agency for Personnel. This directive addressed an increase in hourly wage rates for exam supervisors to resolve previous challenges in recruiting. The directive made no mention of supplements for evening or weekend work, nor other employment-related matters however. The former supervisors therefore argue that this directive is irrelevant to their case.<\/p>\n

\u00bbThis is completely nonsensical. It has nothing to do with the right to negotiate,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n

When UCPH representatives refused to address the worsened conditions for employment, the negotiation committee informed them that they could not guarantee the supervisors would take on work outside regular hours unless the previous conditions were reinstated. This led to an urgent phone call from the daily manager of the examination office, who proposed a temporary truce.<\/p>\n

\u00bbExams were scheduled for the very next day, so they were in a complete panic,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n

It was agreed that work could continue under the previous terms until the matter had been discussed by university management.<\/p>\n

Despite the agreement on temporary conditions, the negotiation committee got a message on 14 June 2022 stating that supplements for work outside regular hours would not be paid after all.<\/p>\n

The negotiation committee considered this a breach of agreement and gave UCPH a deadline to confirm that this was an error. This was confirmed, and the two sides agreed that the original terms would remain in place until the end of 2022, giving UCPH time to find a solution.<\/p>\n

Took university to court<\/h3>\n

The University Post has reviewed various documents and email correspondence related to the case, and Vilhelm Kent states that the supervisors have been clear in their demands from the outset. They have not asked for salary increases but simply that employment contracts be issued in accordance with the law.<\/p>\n

These contracts should reflect the conditions under which they had previously worked, including the supplements for work outside regular hours. Despite their long-standing service, the supervisors feel that UCPH does not recognise their status as employees.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe have people who have celebrated 25 years of service at UCPH and received bonuses. We\u2019ve all had access cards, free parking, and the ability to rent holiday homes through UCPH. You can\u2019t do that unless you\u2019re an employee, so their explanations just don\u2019t hold up,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n

On 24 October 2022, the supervisors received an email stating that they were dismissed with immediate effect, as UCPH had chosen to outsource the exam supervision to an agency. The negotiation committee regarded this as a clear violation of the truce.
\n
\nThe 75 exam supervisors sought the assistance of lawyer Knud Foldschack, who now represents them in their case against UCPH.<\/p>\n

He says that in his more than 40-year career as a lawyer, he has never seen so many errors in an employment case as this.<\/p>\n

\u00bbDisputes typically involve issues like wrongful dismissals, notice periods, missing employment contracts, or unclear worktime conditions. It\u2019s usually one of these issues. But in this case, everything is missing,\u00ab says Knud Foldschack, adding:<\/p>\n

\u00bbEither this is ignorance at a very high level, combined with a chaotic situation, that has the university treating its employees like this, or it is simply shockingly unacceptable behaviour.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Racing against time<\/h3>\n

The University of Copenhagen has paid approximately DKK 1.5 million to some of the former exam supervisors after the university identified errors in the case following the filing of the lawsuit. The lawsuit came after years of attempted negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u00bbWe have no idea how they arrived at these figures and calculations. We still have a claim of around DKK 4.6 million,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n

\u00bbBut we are all elderly people, and one of us has already passed away. So the court has agreed to expedite the case,\u00ab says the former exam supervisor.<\/p>\n

Knud Foldschack believes that UCPH has deliberately delayed the case.<\/p>\n

\u00bbIt is completely unacceptable that this case has dragged on for so long \u2014 due, in my opinion, to chaos and mismanagement. They have failed to clean up and settle accounts so that the people involved can benefit from the money while they are still alive, instead of it being subject to estate and inheritance taxes. This is not OK,\u00ab says Knud Foldschack.<\/p>\n

Vilhelm Kent feels disappointed and betrayed by his former workplace. He remains confident however that the former supervisors will have the court confirm that UCPH did not act in accordance with the rules.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI firmly believe that we will win the case. It cannot be otherwise. They cannot escape the fact, at the very least, that we were entitled to a certificate of employment in accordance with the law,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n

The case is scheduled to be heard in the Copenhagen District Court on 10-11 March.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

75 exam supervisors were collectively dismissed by the University of Copenhagen after many years of service. Now, with the help of lawyer Knud Foldschack, they are demanding millions of Danish kroner in compensation for breaches of the terms of their employment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":172387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4539],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arbejdsmiljoe-en","expression-feature_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nDismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit \u2014 University Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit \u2014 University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"75 exam supervisors were collectively dismissed by the University of Copenhagen after many years of service. Now, with the help of lawyer Knud Foldschack, they are demanding millions of Danish kroner in compensation for breaches of the terms of their employment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T03:14:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-27T08:52:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Martin Juhl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Martin Juhl\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Martin Juhl\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ff6534f5b2402ad00c090ce725c33b27\"},\"headline\":\"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-24T03:14:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-27T08:52:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1190,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Working environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit \u2014 University Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-24T03:14:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-27T08:52:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ff6534f5b2402ad00c090ce725c33b27\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"\u00bbMan er kommet meget let hen over det ved n\u00e6rmest bare at stikke os 7.500 kroner hver,\u00ab siger Vilhelm Kent.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ff6534f5b2402ad00c090ce725c33b27\",\"name\":\"Martin Juhl\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Martin Juhl\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/martin_juhl_petersen\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit \u2014 University Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit \u2014 University Post","og_description":"75 exam supervisors were collectively dismissed by the University of Copenhagen after many years of service. Now, with the help of lawyer Knud Foldschack, they are demanding millions of Danish kroner in compensation for breaches of the terms of their employment.","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"2025-01-24T03:14:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-27T08:52:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"http:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Martin Juhl","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Martin Juhl","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/"},"author":{"name":"Martin Juhl","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/ff6534f5b2402ad00c090ce725c33b27"},"headline":"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit","datePublished":"2025-01-24T03:14:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-27T08:52:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/"},"wordCount":1190,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Working environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/","name":"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit \u2014 University Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-24T03:14:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-27T08:52:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/ff6534f5b2402ad00c090ce725c33b27"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"\u00bbMan er kommet meget let hen over det ved n\u00e6rmest bare at stikke os 7.500 kroner hver,\u00ab siger Vilhelm Kent."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/dismissed-exam-supervisors-hit-university-of-copenhagen-with-lawsuit\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dismissed exam supervisors hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/ff6534f5b2402ad00c090ce725c33b27","name":"Martin Juhl","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1797e6a2f5504b0011d25ea810ff777cf9961880304ebea2975858e118970e05?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Martin Juhl"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/martin_juhl_petersen\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"expression":{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"},"enable_comments":true,"align_content":"alignleft","feature_color":"#26891b","article_updated":"","layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"classic","highlighted_words":"hit University of Copenhagen with lawsuit","text_size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":172386,"id":172386,"title":"Vilhelm Kent2","filename":"vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","filesize":720002,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/fyrede-eksamensvagter-staevner-ku-kraever-millioner-i-erstatning\/vilhelm-kent2\/","alt":"","author":"106","description":"","caption":"\u00bbMan er kommet meget let hen over det ved n\u00e6rmest bare at stikke os 7.500 kroner hver,\u00ab siger Vilhelm Kent. ","name":"vilhelm-kent2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":172367,"date":"2025-01-22 08:30:13","modified":"2025-12-19 10:09:40","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"full","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"Vilhelm Kent is spokesperson for the 75 dismissed exam supervisors at the University of Copenhagen. He describes the university's behaviour as \u00bbdisgusting\u00ab."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Court trial","text":"This is a story about what will follow","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p><span class=\"dropcap\">T<\/span>he University of Copenhagen (UCPH) is now embroiled in a major conflict with a dismissed corps of exam supervisors.<\/p>\n<p>75 of the former staff feel that they have been treated so poorly by UCPH that they have sued the university for DKK 6.1 million, citing lost earnings and breaches of contract.<\/p>\n<p>The case is scheduled to be heard in the Copenhagen District Court in March.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute involves missing contracts, confusion over employment conditions, and questions about pay supplements.<\/p>\n<p>After a six-month standoff, the entire supervisory corps was collectively dismissed in October 2022. This followed a protracted process during which UCPH, according to the former supervisors, acted unreasonably. All of the exam supervisors are retirees.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is disgusting. Simply disgusting, and frankly appalling to treat a group of employees who have been so loyal, running exams during the pandemic, often risking their own health. And then to do this \u2014 this is outrageous,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent, who acts as spokesperson for the former exam supervisors.<\/p>\n<p>The University of Copenhagen has declined to comment on the case until a verdict has been reached.<\/p>\n<h3>Deteriorated working conditions<\/h3>\n<p>The conflict began on 25 March 2022, when the exam supervisors received an email from the former management of the examination office at UCPH, thanking them for their significant contributions, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>On the same day however, several of the exam supervisors received a letter from the HR department on South Campus that gave them notice of a significant worsening of their conditions of employment. These included the removal of overtime and weekend pay supplements. Additionally, their employment would be defined as only during their shifts at the university. This meant they would automatically be dismissed after each supervision assignment.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"In this case, everything is missing","quotee":"Knud Foldschack, lawyer for the 75 dismissed exam supervisors","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The new, worse conditions of employment, angered the exam supervisors, who considered the communication both deeply unacceptable and legally invalid.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI wrote back to UCPH and said that this was legally untenable and needed to be redone. Plain and simple,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n<p>In response, a meeting was quickly convened among the exam supervisors. At this meeting, a negotiation committee was set up, led by Vilhelm Kent, with the mandate to represent the 75 exam supervisors.<\/p>\n<h3>Truce during exam season<\/h3>\n<p>On 10 June 2022, a meeting was held between the negotiation committee and representatives from the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<p>During the meeting, UCPH representatives maintained that they had no mandate to negotiate, as the university was bound by a 2005 government directive from the former Agency for Personnel. This directive addressed an increase in hourly wage rates for exam supervisors to resolve previous challenges in recruiting. The directive made no mention of supplements for evening or weekend work, nor other employment-related matters however. The former supervisors therefore argue that this directive is irrelevant to their case.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis is completely nonsensical. It has nothing to do with the right to negotiate,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n<p>When UCPH representatives refused to address the worsened conditions for employment, the negotiation committee informed them that they could not guarantee the supervisors would take on work outside regular hours unless the previous conditions were reinstated. This led to an urgent phone call from the daily manager of the examination office, who proposed a temporary truce.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbExams were scheduled for the very next day, so they were in a complete panic,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n<p>It was agreed that work could continue under the previous terms until the matter had been discussed by university management.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the agreement on temporary conditions, the negotiation committee got a message on 14 June 2022 stating that supplements for work outside regular hours would not be paid after all.<\/p>\n<p>The negotiation committee considered this a breach of agreement and gave UCPH a deadline to confirm that this was an error. This was confirmed, and the two sides agreed that the original terms would remain in place until the end of 2022, giving UCPH time to find a solution.<\/p>\n<h3>Took university to court<\/h3>\n<p>The University Post has reviewed various documents and email correspondence related to the case, and Vilhelm Kent states that the supervisors have been clear in their demands from the outset. They have not asked for salary increases but simply that employment contracts be issued in accordance with the law.<\/p>\n<p>These contracts should reflect the conditions under which they had previously worked, including the supplements for work outside regular hours. Despite their long-standing service, the supervisors feel that UCPH does not recognise their status as employees.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe have people who have celebrated 25 years of service at UCPH and received bonuses. We\u2019ve all had access cards, free parking, and the ability to rent holiday homes through UCPH. You can\u2019t do that unless you\u2019re an employee, so their explanations just don\u2019t hold up,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n<p>On 24 October 2022, the supervisors received an email stating that they were dismissed with immediate effect, as UCPH had chosen to outsource the exam supervision to an agency. The negotiation committee regarded this as a clear violation of the truce.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"But we are all elderly people, and one of us has already passed away. So the court has agreed to expedite the case","quotee":"Vilhelm Kent, chairman of the negotiating committee for the dismissed exam supervisors","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The 75 exam supervisors sought the assistance of lawyer Knud Foldschack, who now represents them in their case against UCPH.<\/p>\n<p>He says that in his more than 40-year career as a lawyer, he has never seen so many errors in an employment case as this.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbDisputes typically involve issues like wrongful dismissals, notice periods, missing employment contracts, or unclear worktime conditions. It\u2019s usually one of these issues. But in this case, everything is missing,\u00ab says Knud Foldschack, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbEither this is ignorance at a very high level, combined with a chaotic situation, that has the university treating its employees like this, or it is simply shockingly unacceptable behaviour.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h3>Racing against time<\/h3>\n<p>The University of Copenhagen has paid approximately DKK 1.5 million to some of the former exam supervisors after the university identified errors in the case following the filing of the lawsuit. The lawsuit came after years of attempted negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe have no idea how they arrived at these figures and calculations. We still have a claim of around DKK 4.6 million,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBut we are all elderly people, and one of us has already passed away. So the court has agreed to expedite the case,\u00ab says the former exam supervisor.<\/p>\n<p>Knud Foldschack believes that UCPH has deliberately delayed the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is completely unacceptable that this case has dragged on for so long \u2014 due, in my opinion, to chaos and mismanagement. They have failed to clean up and settle accounts so that the people involved can benefit from the money while they are still alive, instead of it being subject to estate and inheritance taxes. This is not OK,\u00ab says Knud Foldschack.<\/p>\n<p>Vilhelm Kent feels disappointed and betrayed by his former workplace. He remains confident however that the former supervisors will have the court confirm that UCPH did not act in accordance with the rules.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI firmly believe that we will win the case. It cannot be otherwise. They cannot escape the fact, at the very least, that we were entitled to a certificate of employment in accordance with the law,\u00ab says Vilhelm Kent.<\/p>\n<p>The case is scheduled to be heard in the Copenhagen District Court on 10-11 March.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with our top stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":4539,"name":"Working environment","slug":"arbejdsmiljoe-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4539,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":95,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":18,"name":"Feature Article","slug":"feature_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":1200,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/vilhelmkent2-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172450"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172609,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172450\/revisions\/172609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}