The new system will not be open to students, who will be able to continue to raise concerns with their university and then to an independent adjudicator.<\/p>\n
A stronger law on freedom of speech on England’s campuses came into force in August 2025, but the complaints system element has been delayed.<\/p>\n
The Labour government has removed an initial proposal which would have allowed individuals to take legal action against universities in the civil courts. <\/p>\n
The lack of a complaints system has left academics having to pursue other routes, such as employment tribunals.<\/p>\n
The government will set out further details on the new complaints system later on Monday.<\/p>\n
Initially, the OfS will be able to review how an incident has been handled, tell universities to change their processes around freedom of speech and direct universities to pay compensation to individuals affected.<\/p>\n
Significant fines, including from 2% of a university’s income, could mean penalties run into millions for some.<\/p>\n
While income varies, a medium-to-large-sized university’s annual income can start at around \u00a3500 million and rise into the billions for the most high profile institutions.<\/p>\n
This raises the possibility of fines significantly higher than the \u00a3585,000 issued to the University of Sussex<\/a> in March 2025 – mainly over a transgender and non-binary inclusion policy which the regulator said had a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.<\/p>\n