Just three of the 120 civil service code complaints received by the Civil Service Commission last year were valid.
The Commission is an independent body that regulates appointments to the civil service and is also responsible for hearing complaints under the civil service code when a civil servant is asked to do something which conflicts with the values in the code, or is aware that another civil servant is acting in conflict with the values.
Civil servants should first raise complaints with their department, and can then appeal to the Commission if they are dissatisfied with the outcome.
The high proportion of out of scope complaint appeals (97.5%) is revealed in the Civil Service Commission’s annual report and accounts, which was published last week.
The Commission said the common reasons why complaints are deemed invalid are because they relate to HR issues or are from people who are not civil servants.
The Commission has acknowledged in guidance for civil servants on bringing an appeal to the CSC that "it is not always easy to make a clear cut distinction between a human resources issue and a concern under the civil service code". In the guidance document, published in 2017, it said: "If you are unclear you should contact the commission who will either be able to deal with the matter or direct you to someone who can."
The 2023-24 report said: “Notably, many of these cases reported HR, management, and policy issues or instances of bullying, harassment, and discrimination, which are matters for the employing department and fall out of the Commission’s legal remit.”
It added: “Some complaints about conduct and behaviour of civil servants were raised by members of the public. Under statute, the Commission can only hear complaints from existing civil servants and, therefore, suggested that the complainants raise their concerns directly with the relevant authorities”.
Of the three code complaints that fell within the Commission’s remit, one was closed with no further action taken due to a lack of follow‑up from the complainant, and two were referred back to the relevant department because they had not been considered by the department in the first instance.
The Commission said it will be doing more to promote the code – beginning with building a better understanding of how code complaints are being handled within departments – as it grows its headcount this year.
A spokesperson for the Commission told CSW: “We currently receive a large number of out of scope complaints in relation to the civil service code, mostly because they relate to HR issues or are not raised by a civil servant. We hope to work with departments over the course of 2025 to build greater awareness and understanding of the code and our role as the appeal body next year.”
The Commission raised similar concerns in its 2022-23 report which noted that, out of 85 complaints, 63 were assessed and determined to fall outside of the legal remit of the civil service code and 16 were referred back to the department for an investigation to take place in the first instance.
In the most recent Civil Service People Survey, 88% of civil servants said they understand the civil service code and what it means for their conduct, 70% said they are aware of how to raise a concern under the civil service code, and 76% said they are confident that if they raise a concern under the civil service code, in their organisation, it will be investigated properly.
Recruitment principles complaints were slightly more likely to be relevant, with 37 of 206 complaints falling within the Commission’s legal remit. Investigations into seven of these complaints are still ongoing, five were referred back to the department, and nine could not be processed further due to lack of response from the complainant. Of the 15 completed investigations, 13 concluded without finding any breach and two concluded with breaches found.
In total, the Commission discovered 71 breaches of the recruitment principles in 2023-24, compared to 82 in 2022-23 – with most found through its own audits. There were 26 serious breaches and 45 technical breaches across 25 departments and organisations.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "All civil servants are expected to abide by the civil service code as part of their terms and conditions of employment. Where any individual is found to be breaking the code, appropriate action will be taken.”