FAQs: Giving feedback to the Engineering Council

At the Engineering Council we work with the Licensed Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs). This ensures that processes and standards are applied fairly and consistently when they assess the competence and commitment of their members for professional registration.

We welcome all feedback concerning regulation of the engineering profession in the UK, both as a means of continuing to improve our overall service and to meet our own Charter and Bye-Law commitments.

The Engineering Council welcomes all feedback concerning regulation of the engineering profession in the UK.

You can give feedback to the Engineering Council via the Contact Us form.

If you’re dissatisfied with the conduct of a Licensed PEIs or the Engineering Council, you can make a formal complaint via the Engineering Council’s formal complaints process. We at the Engineering Council will make every effort to deal with the issues raised and report back transparently and in a timely manner.

Please note, as the Engineering Council is governed by a Royal Charter, we have a very specific and defined remit. As such, there is a clear scope of the complaints which the Engineering Council can investigate.

Whilst the Engineering Council is unable to investigate complaints against individuals or suppliers, here are some options you may wish to consider:

• Complain directly to the individual or company
• Contact Citizens Advice for advice on how to proceed; you may find useful information on their website here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/Solve-an-ongoing-consumer-problem/
• If you know the company is affiliated with a trade organisation or a Licensed PEI, you might wish to bring the matter to their attention for investigation; you might find this information on the company’s website, social media page, or advertisements

Please note that The Engineering Council can only investigate complaints that fall within our remit. This includes complaints regarding:

• If a registrant loses Engineering Council registration as a result of action by their Licensed PEI then they may appeal to the Board of the Engineering Council under Charter and Bye-laws 2023 PDF Document - Schedule 10
• If a Licensed PEI loses all or some of its licences it may appeal to the Board of the Engineering Council under Charter and Bye-laws 2023 PDF Document - Schedule 22
• If Licensed PEIs fail to respond to complaints about its actions or behaviour, the Engineering Council will review this with the institution concerned regarding the nature of the complaint and the institution's response. However, the Engineering Council only has jurisdiction if the actions of the Licensed PEI are matters of process concerning the assessment of individual members, or the process of their own disciplinary procedures. The Engineering Council may not make judgments upon the outcome made by Licensees of complaints or appeals against their individual members
• If a registrant's behaviour falls short of the Code of Conduct of their Licensed PEI this should initially be reported to the institution concerned as a complaint against the member of that institution. The Engineering Council will assist complainants in identifying a registrant’s professional body, where it is possible to directly identify the individual registrant
• If the complainant is not content with the response of the Licensed PEI concerned, then the Engineering Council will discuss the matter with the PEI and examine records if relevant. The outcome may be an agreement to review processes. The Engineering Council has no jurisdiction or sanction that it can apply unless the Licensed PEI has failed to follow its own disciplinary procedures. These disciplinary procedures are, however, subject to review by the Engineering Council. The Engineering Council cannot act as adjudicator on matters of fact concerning individual cases, or reopen decisions arrived at under processes in agreed disciplinary procedures. Engineering Council can only investigate those complaints against Licensed PEIs that relate to licensed processes
• If you are dissatisfied with how the Engineering Council has handled an issue or interacted with you

Some complaints and requests are outside the remit of the Engineering Council. The Engineering Council cannot:

• Investigate complaints or take part in legal actions against individual registrants
• Offer opinions about the engineering competence or engineering good practice of individuals or companies (including on the results of any applications or assessments)
• Initiate action to deprive registrants of their registered status - that is the responsibility of the Licensed PEI
• Offer opinions or accept appeals regarding decisions made from applications or accreditation visits. Concerns or queries regarding accreditation visits should be made to the Licensed PEIs that undertook the assessment
• Provide legal advice or recommend legal representation
• Investigate complaints that are more than six years old, unless there are extenuating circumstances
• Rule on complaints about matters that are covered by general law (for example, employment, criminal activity or copyright disputes)
• Make judgments upon, nor rule on, a Licensed PEI's membership fees nor request in any instance that any membership fees must be reduced or waived

At the Engineering Council we aim to acknowledge all complaints or other feedback within two working days via an email acknowledgment. We aim to investigate and resolve your complaint within ten working days unless additional information or time for investigation is required.

If your complaint is viewed as not being within the Engineering Council’s remit, you will be informed of this.

Before making your complaint, please view our FAQs section, to see if an answer already exists for your complaint or query.

Please read under Our Remit (above), which details the types of complaints that the Engineering Council can and cannot investigate.

Complaints should be made using our Contact Us form.

You may also contact us via email at complaints@engc.org.uk.

For information about how your data is processed during the complaints procedure, and your rights as a data subject, please see our privacy notices.