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Any student wishing to raise a complaint about the behaviour of a member of the College staff towards them, another member/s of College or any visitor/s to the College should do so under this procedure. No student will be disadvantaged or victimised for raising a complaint. 

Note that complaints related to a student’s accommodation and the servicing and maintenance thereof should be raised under the . 

Raising a complaint 

Any student who suffers or witnesses behaviour from a member of staff that they believe to be unreasonable or unacceptable should take that complaint in the first instance to the Senior Tutor. This may be done in the following ways: 

• The student may approach the Senior Tutor directly by email (senior.tutor@cai.cam.ac.uk) or arrange to meet them to explain the nature of the complaint. In any meeting with the Senior Tutor, the student/s raising the complaint may be accompanied as a supporter by their Tutor or by another student otherwise unconnected to the complaint including a member of the GCSU Committee. 
• The student may first raise the case with their own Tutor who will then pass on the details of the complaint to the Senior Tutor. In meeting with their Tutor, the student may be accompanied if they wish by another student as above. The Senior Tutor may either request a meeting with the student concerned at which the student may be accompanied as above or the Senior Tutor may decide that no further meeting is necessary at this stage and instigate the complaint procedure. 
• The student may raise the case with the College Discrimination and Harassment Contact. This can be done by email (cdhc@cai.cam.ac.uk) or by meeting with them during their advertised tutorial hours. A complaint raised in this way will be handled in the same way as if raised with the Tutor. 

Once a complaint has been raised with the Senior Tutor, they will ascertain from the student whether the student wishes the complaint to be dealt with informally or formally. In either case, this will be reported to the Head of Department of the staff member about whom the complaint has been made or, if the complaint is about the Head of Department, with their line manager. It is important that as the matter proceeds the complainant respects the confidentiality of those involved. 

Process for dealing with an informal complaint 

Informal processes will be applied where appropriate in line with best practice to resolve minor issues without the need for further escalation. An informal complaint will be addressed early between the parties involved and should normally be resolved within 7 to 14 days of the matter being raised.

Process for dealing with a formal complaint 

Formal complaints concerning staff, whether by students or others, are dealt with under a code of practice developed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Service () which forms the basis for the disciplinary policy for staff set out in the College’s Staff Handbook. Employment law requirements also apply. Fairness and transparency for the member of the staff underlie the disciplinary policy and its processes. The next two paragraphs summarise the Staff Handbook disciplinary policy. 

A formal process may be implemented if a) an informal concern is inappropriate given the nature of the issue or b) a student does not feel a satisfactory outcome has been reached under the informal process. This starts by establishing the facts and an investigation would be carried out by a member of staff with experience in this process. If the investigation establishes that there is a case to answer a disciplinary hearing will normally follow, heard before a panel who have not been involved in the investigation. Information, documents and any relevant statements are provided to the member of staff complained about to ensure fairness and transparency. 

At a hearing the member of staff complained about has the right to be accompanied by a companion, who may by a representative of a trade union. Before reaching a decision the hearing panel may require further investigation. The decision of the panel may, on the one hand, dismiss the complaint or, on the other, apply any of a range of sanctions from an oral warning, though written warning to final written warning or dismissal. Some actions may constitute ‘gross misconduct’ and be so grievous as to merit summary dismissal without warning. The member of staff may appeal against a decision. Any appeal would be heard by a panel that was not conflicted by earlier involvement in the process. 

Once the complaint process has been completed in accordance with the Staff Handbook, the Head of Department will inform the Senior Tutor who will then inform the complainant that the process is complete. Employment law prevents the disclosure to a third-part complainant of specific personal details of individual members of staff, including when disciplinary action has been taken. 

Unresolved complaint 

If a student feels that their complaint has not been handled in accordance with the process described above or the principles laid out in the appendix then they can raise the issue with the Master (master@cai.cam.ac.uk) who will investigate further. If the student remains unhappy after this stage then they can contact the .

November 2024