Complaints procedure

Fast Stream Complaints Process

We hope you don’t ever have cause to complain and we are pleased that complaints about our recruitment process are rare. However, we do want candidates to tell us if they believe they have a grievance.

Our complaints procedure covers only those parts of the Fast Stream selection process for which Civil Service Fast Stream is responsible, essentially, the Fast Stream Assessment Centre and the candidate application support service. It does not cover anything for which others are responsible eg. Specialist Assessments.

Types of complaint

Some examples of cause for complaint might include:

  • you feel that our administrative or other procedures caused you significant inconvenience
  • you believe there is evidence that action on our part adversely affected the outcome of your application
  • you are dissatisfied with the way we interacted with you personally during the selection process

If you simply disagree with the judgment of the Assessment Centre, we don’t consider that grounds for complaint.

You may not normally complain on behalf of a third party unless circumstances require it (eg if you are acting on behalf of a disabled candidate who is unable to handle his/her own case).

How to complain

Complaints must be submitted to:

fset.complaints@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Please provide the fullest account possible of the circumstances surrounding your complaint.

If you do not submit your complaint within 3 months of the action you’re complaining about, we won’t normally consider it. If there are exceptional circumstances (eg an event coming to light more than 3 months after it occurred and which was unknown to you at the time), we may consider a complaint outside this period.

Our commitment

We will:

  • acknowledge your complaint within 5 days of its receipt
  • take your complaint seriously, give it high priority and investigate it fully and impartially
  • aim to send you a full written response to your complaint within 20 working days of its receipt let you know if this isn’t possible, and explain why

If your complaint is upheld, we will take immediate action to ensure that the event complained about will not recur. If your complaint is not upheld, we will advise you of options for pursuing it further, should you wish to do so.

Our recruitment process is based on fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

If you are not happy with your response from us you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.