Diversity and Equality

The Wine Tip is committed to upholding the principles of diversity and equality in all areas of its work, seeking to ensure that all students and other stakeholders are always treated fairly and equally.

The Wine Tip assures equality of opportunity for students by:

• Promoting open access to WSET qualifications (having regard to the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcohol and assessment competence standards) 

• Ensuring that the format and content of all specifications, examinations and other WSET Awards materials do not discriminate unlawfully against anyone on the grounds of disability, age, marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation (having regard to the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcohol and assessment competence standards) 

• Allowing students with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to access WSET assessments without changing the demands of the assessment in line with our Reasonable Adjustment and Special Consideration policies 

• Ensuring that this policy is considered during the development of new qualifications and other WSET Awards projects 

• To have a diversity and equality policy in place which promotes open access to WSET qualifications 

• Collating and monitoring data on candidate age, gender, ethnicity and access arrangements, which are reportable in a non-attributable format 

• Inviting feedback on diversity issues from students and other stakeholders 

• Reviewing this policy regularly to ensure it continues to meet legislative and organisational requirements and is fit for purpose.
   

Note to Student

Students who believe they may have been unfairly discriminated against by The Wine Tip should raise this with the APP concerned in the first instance.
 

Special Consideration

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside of their control at the time of the exam, that significantly affects their ability to take the exam or their ability to show their knowledge and understanding in the assessment. Special consideration is only for things that happen immediately before or during an exam that have a material impact on the student’s ability to take the exam or on their performance. To be eligible for special consideration, students must have completed the whole course and would have been fully prepared if not for temporary illness, injury, or another uncontrollable event. A special consideration may be for an individual (e.g. a student becomes ill on the day of the exam) or a group of students (e.g. an exam is interrupted by a natural disaster).
Students may be eligible for special consideration if:

• Their performance on the exam is adversely affected by an event outside of their control. This may include temporary illness, temporary injury, bereavement, or exam room conditions
• Reasonable adjustments which were agreed to in advance of the exam proved to be
  inappropriate or inadequate
• The application of special consideration would not make a passing result and certificate misleading about the student’s ability to satisfy the qualification’s assessment criteria

Applying for special consideration

If at student has taken an exam, or their exam is quickly approaching, and they feel that they have a temporary injury or illness, or other uncontrollable event that has interfered with their ability to complete the exam, they should please contact Paul Huet/info@thewinetip.com.au as soon as possible. The Wine Tip will provide them with a Special Consideration Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within 5 working days after the effected exam. The information a student submits will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

If there has been a serious disruption during an exam affecting a group of students, The Wine tip will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request special consideration.
The Wine Tip will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

Complaints and appeals 

At The Wine Tip we aim to deliver consistently effective and efficient levels of service to our students. However, there may be occasions where the level of service falls short of expectation.

Every customer is important to us, and any complaint will be taken seriously, impartially and confidentially, with no prejudice held against the complainant.

A complainant may be a student or a prospective student.

We aim to assist students in resolving issues regarding bookings, courses, educators, booking, venue, feedback etc…

The complaint would have to be sent via email to info@thewinetip.com.au, and should include the following information.

• Name, address and contact information
• Full details of the complaint with any supportive documents
• Details of any previous attempts made to resolve the problem 

An acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint would be sent within 3 working days, and Paul Huet would treat it and provide a response within 10 working days.

Were the student not satisfied with the solution provided, it would be then possible (and only then) to refer the complaint to WSET directly my emailing governance@wsetglobal.com

Conflict of Interest Policy

As an Approved Programme Provider (APP) of WSET, The Wine Tip is required to identify to WSET and assist in the managing or monitoring of actual, potential, and perceived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s  conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and The Wine Tip processes and procedures.
This policy applies to all The Wine Tip staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of The Wine Tip.
A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity, or loyalty to WSET or The Wine Tip when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.
Examples of Conflicts of Interest include:

• The assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned
• The moderation of assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned
• The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP
• The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment
• The coaching of candidates by any individual involved in the assessment of candidate
  scripts
• The employment by an APP of individuals engaged in the delivery of taught programmes or in the role of Internal Assessor in another APP
• The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if a family member of one of The Wine Tip’s educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through The Wine Tip, or when an employee of The Wine Tip, or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through The Wine Tip, The Wine Tip must notify WSET in advance and then work with WSET to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam.

Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts can overcome the conflict created when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available.
Any staff member or student of The Wine Tip who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Paul Huet info@thewinetip.com.au as soon as possible. Paul Huet will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a caseby-case basis. If WSET and The Wine Tip decide that the conflict is not manageable, Paul Huet will inform any impacted APP staff or students.
Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or The Wine Tip because it is required to report such conflicts to WSET.

Malpractice and Maladministration Policy

Both The Wine Tip and WSET have policies and procedures in place to protect WSET students and safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications. The Wine Tip ensures compliance with The Wine Tip and WSET’s policies through this Malpractice and Maladministration Policy, which gives a framework for both The Wine Tip and students to identify, report, and manage potential malpractice or maladministration.
Non-compliance with The Wine Tip or WSET Policies and Procedures can fall into two distinct, but related, categories:

1. Maladministration, where the non-compliance is generally unintentional, or the result of mistakes, carelessness, inexperience, or poor processes
2. Malpractice, where the non-compliance is intentional or the result of a negligent or reckless action without consideration of the consequences of the action

Context is important, and the line between maladministration or malpractice is not always clear. For example, maladministration incidents may become malpractice (e.g. if a party fails to implement corrective measures, repeats the same or a similar incident, or attempts to misrepresent or hide information during an investigation), or there may be mitigating factors that turn potential malpractice into maladministration. Though malpractice and maladministration are distinct concepts, they can shade into one another. Malpractice and maladministration are always case, context, and fact specific. Both APPs and students can commit malpractice and maladministration.
There are many ways that malpractice or maladministration could occur, including new ways which WSET and The Wine Tip have not yet seen.
Some examples of malpractice or maladministration include: 

For APPs:

• Failure to adhere to WSET Policies and Procedures
• Failure to follow WSET requirements for course delivery or exam regulations
• Failure to follow WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures
• Late student registrations
• Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates
• Withholding critical information from WSET quality assurance
• Insecure storage of exam materials
• Revealing or sharing confidential exam materials with candidates ahead of an exam
• Intentional attempts to manipulate exam results so that they do not reflect the candidate’s actual exam performance
• Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students promptly
• Failure to promptly respond to WSET
• Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers
• Failure to report changes in APP ownership/personnel/location/facilities
• Denying WSET access to information, documentation, workforce, or facilities
• Failure to return exam papers within the specified time limit or to follow delivery and tracking regulations
• Infringements of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights, and brand identity
• Use of unqualified and/or unregistered educators or internal assessors
• Breach of confidentiality
• Misleading advertising/publicity
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect
• Failure to disclose a Conflict of Interest

For students:

• Cheating, or facilitating cheating, including the use of unauthorised devices or materials
• Disruptive behaviour in an exam
• Plagiarism of any nature by students
• Impersonation (including forgery of signatures)
• Unauthorised reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect
• Breach of confidentiality

In general, The Wine Tip also expects that both The Wine Tip staff and students will treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. The Wine Tip will treat inappropriate behaviour, including verbal or physical abuse, persistent or unrealistic demands, or threats that cause stress to staff, as misconduct and may report such student misconduct to WSET as necessary. 

As an APP, The Wine Tip aims to ensure compliance with WSET Policies and The Wine Tip policies and will keep records of potential or actual malpractice or maladministration by students or staff.
The Wine Tip is required to notify WSET at once of any non-compliance issues that could be malpractice or maladministration, so that WSET can investigate the non-compliance under their own Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.
The Wine Tip asks that students also raise any concerns or non-compliance issues that may be malpractice or maladministration with The Wine Tip as soon as possible by following the process outlined in the The Wine Tip Complaints policy. 
During WSET’s investigation, they may reach out to The Wine Tip or to students directly to request further information or conduct an interview. Please respond to any requests promptly and honestly.

Managing Non-Compliance
If WSET identifies malpractice or maladministration, they will consider its impact and may apply sanctions.
WSET will take all reasonable steps to ensure the sanctions do not disadvantage uninvolved students affected by malpractice or maladministration. However, in some cases, they may need to disallow or withhold results and/or certificates.

WSET will consider all relevant information on a case-by-case basis, balancing the facts with potential or actual effects, and against the seriousness of the sanctions against those effects. WSET records all malpractice and maladministration incidents for both APPs and students. If WSET determines that a student has committed malpractice or maladministration, they may apply one or more of the following sanctions:

Appeals
When a student wishes to appeal penalties or sanctions which WSET has imposed due to Malpractice or Maladministration, they should please follow the procedures laid out in WSET’s Complaints Policy.