Complaints Procedure

Complaints

CIBI takes complaints seriously and complaints may be received from anyone benefiting from CIBI’s work e.g., students, or from employees, tutors, examiners or any other individual associated with CIBI.

We hope that many issues can be resolved informally between the complainant and the personnel involved.  However, we do have a process to respond to complaints that cannot be resolved informally.

Complaints may be made verbally, or in writing. The complaint should be addressed in the first instance at source i.e. directly with the person with whom there is a complaint.  If that is not possible the complaint should be made to the Director of Studies (where the complaint is course/study-related) or to the General Manager (where the complaint is administrative in nature).  Efforts will be made to address the complaint informally through discussion with the relevant parties, and the complaint will be dealt with fairly and confidentially.

However, if this is not possible, or if the complainant remains dissatisfied, a formal process can be initiated. A complaints form is available for this purpose (See Appendix A below).  The complainant should fill out this form and send it to the trustees at admin@cibi.ie.

Complaints Procedure

  • We will respond to all email complaints within 7 working days of receipt,  providing acknowledgement that a complaint has been received and may make contact to request further information or clarity.
  • All complaints will be thoroughly investigated.  This will normally involve the Director of Studies, or General Manager reviewing the matter and discussing it with the respondent to the complaint.
  • An online meeting may be organised to discuss and resolve the complaint. This will occur within 14 days of sending the acknowledgement email.
  • The Director of Studies or General Manager will then write to the complainant within 7 days of this meeting to confirm what took place and to set out any solutions that were agreed upon.
  • If a meeting is not possible or agreeable, the Director of Studies or General Manager will issue a detailed written reply to the complainant, setting out suggestions for resolving the matter within 21 days of sending the acknowledgement email to them.
  • If the complainant is not satisfied at this point, they should contact the Director of Studies or General Manager again.  At the conclusion of this step, the Director of Studies or General Manager may decide to take further action on the complaint.  If the Director of Studies or General Manager decide not to take further action, the process is completed.  The complainant will be advised of their right to appeal the outcome.  An appropriate independent person will be appointed to conduct the appeals process, which will be based on best practice in line with natural justice.
  • All efforts will be made to resolve the complaint within eight weeks.
  • All stages of the complaints procedure will be recorded in writing.

We respect a person’s individual rights to make a complaint anonymously, however this may in some cases limit our ability to investigate or respond to the complaint. In cases where personal details are given and confidentiality is requested, we will respect this as much as possible. However, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in all circumstances such as if the complaint relates to a breach of the law, where a witness statement may be requested, or in an area where we are obligated to report issues to statutory or external bodies.

It should be noted that complaints relating to a breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) or requests/queries in relation to an individual’s rights under GDPR will be dealt with in line with the timeframes and procedures established under GDPR and as per our local GDPR policies.

Procedures Contact

Any queries in relation to this procedure should be directed to admin@cibi.ie.

Appendix A – Complaints Form

To initiate a formal complaints process, please fill print the form below, complete the questions and return it to the trustees at admin@cibi.ie.

Complaints Procedure Form

Version 1.0, 2023