How to make a complaint

The Institute always aims to achieve the highest possible standard in the way it works. There are of course times when things go wrong. This page sets out our internal complaints procedure, advises on how to make a complaint, and how you can expect your complaint to be dealt with.

If you are unhappy about your contact with the Institute

In the first instance we would expect, where possible, for you to raise your complaint with the person you have been dealing with within the Institute.

If you would like to launch a subject access request

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to access the data that an organisations holds about you, so that you may be aware of it and are able to verify the lawfulness of the processing.

To launch a subject access request, please see our privacy policy.

If you have been unable to resolve the issue

Please write to us detailing your complaint, and the steps you have taken to resolve it. Please provide a correspondence address, email address and telephone contact details.

Our contact details

In order for us to make a thorough investigation, we ask that you submit your complaint to us in one of the following ways:

Email: improveIT@employment-studies.co.uk

By post: ImproveIT, Institute for Employment Studies, City Gate, 185 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN3 1TL

Dealing with your complaint

We undertake to deal with your complaint efficiently as follows:

  • We will acknowledge your comments and ensure that the appropriate manager has been made aware of them within five working days of receipt. The response may be via email, or by telephone.
  • We will respond to you within 28 days to let you know about our findings and to propose a resolution or, if further action needs to be taken, explain why we will need a little more time.
  • We hope that this procedure will be able to resolve most complaints.

If you feel that your complaint has not been resolved

  • You can write to us setting out why you are unhappy with the response, and asking for the matter to the referred to the Director of the Institute.
  • We will acknowledge receipt of your request for a referral within five working days of receiving it.
  • The complaint and our response to it under the first stage will be reviewed by the Director of the Institute.
  • The Director may contact you to arrange an interview so they can talk to you about your complaint.
  • You will receive a full written response within 30 working days of us receiving your request for a referral, or we will tell you about any delay and give you a new date for when you should receive a response.