Complaints procedure

Process for raising a complaint if you are unhappy with the way your application to a Government Economic Service recruitment scheme was treated.

Complaints Procedure

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of recruitment based on fair and open competition with decisions made on the basis of merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact the Government Economic and Social Research Team (GESR).

How to make a complaint

You can complain in writing to:

Head of GESR Operations
GESR Team, Room 1/09
HM Treasury,
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ

You can also email [email protected]

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

If you do not submit your complaint within three months of the action complained of, we will not normally be obliged to consider it. If there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. an event coming to light more than three months after it occurred, and which was unknown to you at the time), we may consider a complaint outside this period.

Our commitment to you on how we will treat your complaint

  • we will aim to acknowledge your complaint within three working days of its receipt
  • we will take your complaint seriously, give it high priority and investigate it fully and impartially
  • we will aim to send you a full written response to your complaint within 20 working days of its receipt. If this is not possible, we will let you know, and explain why
  • if your complaint is upheld, we shall take action to ensure that the event complained does not recur

What to do if you’re not satisfied

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Send details of your complaint, together with the department or agency’s response, so they may consider whether they can investigate your complaint to:

[email protected]

Civil Service Commission
Room G8
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ

Phone: 020 7271 0831

You may also find it beneficial to look at the Outcome of Recruitment Complaints brought to the Commission to get an understanding on the types of complaints they investigate.

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