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Covid-19 notice

Due to the current public health emergency it is unavoidable and understandable that it is causing considerable disruption to the delivery of public services, as well to the work of our own Office. With this in mind, we would ask for your patience and cooperation and in particular:

A) Please think about whether you really need to make complaints about COMPETITIONS RUN BY healthcare and social support services, both of which are under huge strain at the moment.

B) In terms of the work of the Commission for Public Service Appointments, our staff will continue to work during this time. However, we rely on interaction with the service providers to carry out our work, and there will be significant delays in getting responses from service providers, particularly those in healthcare. Additionally, some of our own staff will be redeployed to vital front line services. We apologise for the delays which will result.

The Codes of Practice set out the review and complaint mechanisms that are open to you if you are unhappy with a selection process. You can either:

  1. Request a review of a decision made during the process (under section 7)

    or
  2. Make a complaint that the process was not carried out fairly, consistently or transparently (under section 8).

You must choose between requesting a review of a decision or making a complaint about the process. Where a candidate has previously requested a review a complaint will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

The Commission fully respects your right to privacy. For information about what we do with personal data see our Privacy Notice.

Do you want to

Please select one

Why can I only choose one?

The Codes of Practice say that you must choose whether you wish to request a review of a decision made during the selection process or make a complaint in relation to the process followed. You cannot choose both. If you have previously requested a review of a decision, a complaint will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

If you need help in deciding which to choose, click here

Your request should be made directly to the public body

The Commission does not have a role in considering requests for review under section 7. Requests should be made to the public body that carried out the selection process.

A request for an informal review should be made within 5 working days of receipt of the decision. A request for a formal review should be made within 10 working days of receipt of the decision.

In making your request you should clearly outline the facts that you believe show that the action taken or the decision reached was wrong.

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Complaint process checklist

Before you complete this form you should check that:

  • You have previously made a complaint under section 8 to the public body, outlining why you believe a breach of the Code of Practice occurred (why the selection process was not carried out fairly, consistently or transparently) in this case
  • You have received a final response from the public body in relation to your complaint
  • You have not previously requested a review of a decision made during the selection process under section 7
  • You have clearly outlined the reason(s) why you believe a breach of the Code of Practice occurred (why the selection process was not carried out fairly, consistently or transparently) in this case

Who do you want to complain about?

Have you previously requested a review under section 7 of the Code of Practice?

Please select one

Exceptional circumstances

A complaint will not normally be accepted where you have previously requested a review of a decision under section 7 of the Codes of Practice. A complaint will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances generally relate to:

  1. Additional information received during the course of the section 7 review highlighting potential breaches of the Codes of Practice
  2. Apparent breaches of the Codes of Practice in how the review process under section 7 was carried out

If you believe that exceptional circumstances exist in your case, please outline these clearly below.

Have you made a complaint under section 8 of the Code of Practice to the public body?

Please select one

We cannot accept your complaint yet

Before the Commission can examine a complaint, you will need to have made a complaint under Section 8 of the Code of Practice to the public body that carried out the selection process.

Your complaint should clearly outline why you believe the selection process was not carried out fairly and why you believe a breach of the Code of Practice occurred.

If, following examination of your complaint by the public body, you are still unhappy, you can make a further complaint to the Commission, at that stage.

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Did you get a final response to your complaint from the public body?

Please select one

Have 25 working days passed since your complaint was received?

Please select one

Sorry we cannot help with your complaint yet

The Codes of Practice allow 25 working days for a public body to complete its examination of a complaint and notify its findings to the complainant.

Before we can examine the matter, we ask that you allow the public body this time to complete its examination. However, you can contact us again if:

  • You do not get a response from the public body within six weeks
  • You are not happy with the response received
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Yes we can accept your application