Complaints and Appeals

The Principles 

All Complaints will be investigated competently, diligently and impartially in a timely manner.   

Where necessary, Cyber Scheme will appoint an independent investigator to assess the complaint and gather all necessary information to assess the complaint properly. 

All information associated with a complaint will be handled by Cyber Scheme as confidential and limited on a ‘need to know’ basis to a nominated set of individuals. No information revealed during an investigation will be made available to any person(s) other than those nominated by a Cyber Director.  

Additionally, the detail of any recommendations will not be made available to the Executive or the Directors of Cyber Scheme.  A decision on implementing any recommendation made as a result of the investigation will be made by a minimum of two Directors of the Cyber Scheme.  

Cyber Scheme aim to resolve complaints at the earliest opportunity and ensure complainants are kept informed of the progress of their complaint. Where possible Cyber Scheme aims to resolve all complaints within eight weeks but will notify the complainant if following initial assessment it is expected to take longer. 

Complainants should first attempt to attempt to resolve their issues directly with the Cyber Scheme Member and should use the Cyber Scheme Complaints process as a last resort. 

The Measures  

On receipt of a complaint from a member, the employer of a member, a commercial client using a cyber scheme member, or another member of the Cyber Scheme, it will be registered and passed to a complaints handler. The following procedure will then apply: 

a.      Cyber Scheme will issue the complainant with details of the complaint handling process and request full detail of the nature of the complaint (in an agreed format) and any supporting documentation.  If appropriate or necessary, Cyber Scheme will issue or sign a non-disclosure agreement;   

b.      Where relevant, Cyber Scheme will  issue a complaint notification to the Member; 

c.       Cyber Scheme will review the complaint against the Code of Conduct for Cyber Scheme Qualified Individuals;  

d.      Cyber Scheme will then issue an initial assessment to the Member;  

e.      On receipt of the Cyber Scheme initial assessment, the Member will be required to provide a response to the report together with and supporting documentation;  

f.        A Cyber Scheme Director will review the evidence and will, where appropriate, agree a set of time bounded actions and allocated resources to review their completion;  

g.       Only where the recommendation is: 

• That a Member’s Cyber Scheme qualification is revoked, or 
• Cyber Scheme becomes directly involved in legal action 

Two Cyber Scheme Directors will be engaged.  In these circumstances, an additional and mutually agreed NDA specific to the complaint will be required to be signed by all individuals involved in the decision making.  

h.      Where necessary, Cyber Scheme will employ the services of independently selected industry experts to review the recommendations.  Industry experts will be selected based on their relevance, qualifications and impartiality and will be agreed by all parties (Cyber Scheme and the complainant) in advance of their appointment.  Where deemed necessary, a separate and mutually agreed NDA will be signed by all parties involved. 

i.        Cyber Scheme will issue a recommendation report to the Member in question.  Where appropriate, Cyber Scheme may also issue a recommendation report, or extracts from it, to the employer of the member.  

j.        CYBER SCHEME reserves the right to advise the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) AND CHECK partner companies if a decision is taken to suspend or remove a Members certification.  This action will only be taken following discussions with the Member. 

k.       The recommendations will be enacted and appropriate steps taken to ensure the recommendations are fully complied with. 

l.        Cyber Scheme will give formal notice to the complainant when the complaint handling measures are concluded. 

Cyber Scheme Complaints Handling Policy – Exams 

The Principles 

All Complaints will be investigated competently, diligently and impartially in a timely manner.   

Where necessary, Cyber Scheme will appoint an independent investigator to assess the complaint and gather all necessary information to assess the complaint properly. 

All information associated with a complaint will be handled by Cyber Scheme as confidential and limited on a ‘need to know’ basis to a nominated set of individuals. No information revealed during an investigation will be made available to any person(s) other than those nominated by a Cyber Director.  

Additionally, the detail of any recommendations will not be made available to the Executive or the Directors of Cyber Scheme.  A decision on implementing any recommendation made as a result of the investigation will be made by a minimum of two Directors of the Cyber Scheme.  

Cyber Scheme aim to resolve complaints at the earliest opportunity and ensure complainants are kept informed of the progress of their complaint. Where possible Cyber Scheme aims to resolve all complaints within eight weeks but will notify the complainant if following initial assessment it is expected to take longer. 

Complainants should first attempt to attempt to resolve their issues directly with the Cyber Scheme Member and should use the Cyber Scheme Complaints process as a last resort. 

The Measures  

On receipt of a complaint from a candidate it will be registered and passed to a complaints handler. The following procedure will then apply: 

a.      Cyber Scheme will issue the complainant with details of the complaint handling process and request full detail of the nature of the complaint (in an agreed format) and any supporting documentation.  If appropriate or necessary, Cyber Scheme will issue or sign a non-disclosure agreement;   

b.      Where relevant, Cyber Scheme will  issue a complaint notification to the Assessor concerned; 

c.       Cyber Scheme will review the complaint against the Code of Conduct for Cyber Scheme Qualified Assessors;  

d.      Cyber Scheme will then issue an initial assessment to the complainant;  

e.      On receipt of the Cyber Scheme initial assessment, the complainant will be required to provide a response to the report together with any supporting documentation;  

f.        A Cyber Scheme Director will review the evidence and will, where appropriate, agree a set of time bounded actions and allocated resources to review their completion;  

g.       Only where the recommendation is: 

• That an Assessor has demonstrated gross miss conduct, or 
• Cyber Scheme becomes directly involved in legal action 

Two Cyber Scheme Directors will be engaged.  In these circumstances, an additional and mutually agreed NDA specific to the complaint will be required to be signed by all individuals involved in the decision making.  

h.      Where necessary, Cyber Scheme will employ the services of independently selected industry experts to review the recommendations.  Industry experts will be selected based on their relevance, qualifications and impartiality and will be agreed by all parties (Cyber Scheme and the complainant) in advance of their appointment.  Where deemed necessary, a separate and mutually agreed NDA will be signed by all parties involved. 

i.        Cyber Scheme will issue a recommendation report to the Member in question.  Where appropriate, Cyber Scheme may also issue a recommendation report, or extracts from it, to the employer of the member.  

j.        The recommendations will be enacted and appropriate steps taken to ensure the recommendations are fully complied with. 

k.       Cyber Scheme will give formal notice to the complainant when the complaint handling measures are concluded. 

Cyber Scheme Exam Results Appeal Policy

The Principles 

All Appeals will be investigated competently, diligently and impartially in a timely manner.

Where necessary, Cyber Scheme will appoint an independent assessor to carry out the appeal and review the original assessment answers and marks.

All information associated with an appeal will be handled by Cyber Scheme as confidential and limited on a ‘need to know’ basis to a nominated set of individuals. No information revealed during an investigation will be made available to any person(s) other than those nominated by a Cyber Scheme Director.

Additionally, the detail of any recommendations will be made available to the Executive or the Directors of Cyber Scheme: A decision on implementing any recommendation made as a result of the investigation may need to be made by them.

Cyber Scheme aim to resolve appeals at the earliest opportunity and ensure appellants are kept informed of the progress of their appeal. Where possible Cyber Scheme aims to resolve all appeals within eight weeks but will notify the appellant if it is expected to take longer.

It is not the Cyber Scheme’s policy to share details of appeals (remarks and associated commentary) with appellants.

The Measures  

On receipt of an exam result appeal from a candidate, it will be registered and passed to an independent assessor, usually The Cyber Scheme’s Lead Assessor. The following procedure will then apply: