CIPD Reviews 17

Ive had experienced with 2 Qualified members of CIPD at my work place, both told lies to me to protect the company. When i complained i was ignored. When i tried to complain to CIPD they just ignore me.

I enrolled in a CIPD qualification with high expectations, but the experience has been deeply frustrating from start to finish.

My case has been ongoing for several months (June to September), yet the CIPD team replied only once or twice each month. Such slow communication is unacceptable for a professional body that charges significant course fees. The lack of timely updates created unnecessary stress and left me unable to move forward for weeks at a time.

When my final assessment was flagged for AI suspicion, I submitted detailed notes, references, and explanations. However, the feedback simply said my evidence was “not sufficient” — with no explanation of which parts were insufficient or why. Without clear reasoning, it’s impossible to learn or defend oneself fairly.

Even more confusing, all of my previous assignments passed using the same approach, so it’s unclear why only the last ones were rejected. This inconsistency makes the process feel arbitrary and untrustworthy.

I have lost valuable time, money, and emotional stability because of this experience. It has seriously affected my mental health and confidence.

I joined the CIPD programme with genuine motivation to learn and advance my career, but the experience has been extremely disappointing and distressing.

My case has been ongoing since June, and throughout this period, the team has typically replied only once or twice per month. The unreasonable delays and poor communication made it nearly impossible to resolve issues in a timely way, and caused unnecessary stress that affected both my studies and mental well-being.

When my assessment was flagged for alleged AI use, I submitted detailed notes and references to demonstrate my work. However, the feedback I received simply stated that my evidence was “not sufficient,” with no clear examples or reasoning provided. How can students understand or improve without transparency?

What’s more confusing is that I used the exact same study approach for all my assignments, yet only the final ones were failed for “AI suspicion” while previous ones passed. This inconsistency in assessment standards raises serious concerns about fairness and reliability.

I have invested months of effort, emotional energy, and a significant amount of money, yet the outcome has been nothing but frustration, anxiety, and a sense of being unheard. I shared with CIPD that this experience has had a serious impact on my mental health, but the organisation’s response remained rigid and purely procedural — citing policies rather than showing empathy.

After researching online, I discovered that many other students have shared similar negative experiences, suggesting this is not an isolated incident but a systemic issue that CIPD should urgently address.

For an organisation that promotes professional standards and ethics, I expected far better communication, fairness, and care for students’ well-being. I hope CIPD will listen to the growing number of voices calling for change.

I would not recommend this course. There is no support and extremely poor customer service. the tutor response messages are generic and not specific to your issue and the assessment guide lines/ assignment criteria’s are changed half way through the course which I am assuming is a ploy to get you to spend more money in order to extend your course.

I rarely leave reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience in the hope that it saves others from the same disappointment.

I enrolled in the CIPD course with high hopes, based on promises made during the sign-up process. One of the key selling points was that I would receive regular support from a dedicated mentor, who would check in every 4–8 weeks to guide me through the course. This level of support was important to me as a working professional juggling multiple responsibilities.

Unfortunately, that support never came. Not once in an entire year did a mentor reach out to me. I received no guidance, no structured check-ins, and no one to turn to with questions or concerns. I was essentially left to navigate everything on my own, which completely defeated the purpose of signing up with CIPD in the first place.

After months of silence and growing frustration, I eventually submitted a formal complaint. I expected, at the very least, an apology or an attempt to rectify the situation. Instead, I was shocked to be charged a cancellation fee—despite the fact that CIPD failed to deliver on the very services they promised at the outset.

In total, I lost over £1000 for a course that gave me nothing in return—not even the bare minimum of support. I feel misled and incredibly let down. The lack of accountability and customer care has been appalling.

I would strongly urge others to think twice before committing to CIPD. If you’re expecting mentorship or structured support, you may be bitterly disappointed as I was. There are far better learning providers out there who actually follow through on their commitments.

I couldn’t be more impressed with the content and structure of the CIPD course. The modules are exceptionally well-designed—balancing theory with practical application—and every topic feels genuinely relevant to modern workplace challenges.

From understanding organisational behaviour to mastering talent strategies and ethical HR practices, the material is both comprehensive and easy to engage with. The case studies and examples brought the lessons to life, making it easier to apply them in real-world settings.

The learning experience itself was superb. The platform was user-friendly, and the pace allowed for meaningful reflection without feeling overwhelming. Tutors were knowledgeable, supportive, and responsive, creating an environment that felt collaborative rather than intimidating.

Whether you’re just starting out in the world of people management or looking to deepen your expertise, this course provides the tools, insight, and confidence to make a real impact.

My experience with this company has been nothing but frustrating and unfair from the start. When I first registered, I was forced to pay for a full year of membership, even though I only needed it for six months. Half a year later, I received an automatic renewal notice, asking me to pay for another full year.

When I disputed this, they offered to refund the unused six months and pay for another full year. I simply wanted to continue using the service I had already paid for, but instead, they chose to refund and charge me again. I asked if I could just pay for six more months, which would have been reasonable, but they refused, claiming they only offer annual subscriptions. It’s obvious they are trying to rip you off at every opportunity.

I’m only keeping this membership because it’s required for my CIPD course—they won’t review assignments without an active subscription. Yet they’re more than happy to charge for a service the client does not use or need.

Customer service is slow, unresponsive, and often uninformed about basic consumer rights. You have to chase them multiple times, and they won’t act unless you formally raise a grievance. This company clearly puts profit before customer care.

Avoid if you value fairness, transparency, and basic customer respect.

Awful platform, insanely confusing and rich in information all at the same time, too many links which will drive you crazy if you want to keep track of the subject you are studying. The contents are pretty much interesting and helpful, but the way they are put down is just crazy.
Still not sure of what my assignment is all about...

Complete waste of time and money. I spent 18 months doing a CIPD course and my organisation paid a considerable sum for it. Finished the course, received a certificate and got my membership. When I now try to renew my membership CIPD cannot find me on their system and have told me I need to do the course again to get registered. CIPD is just a money machine and to be honest the course has not helped me in my job one single bit. Do yourself a favour and save the time and money. It is experience you need not a CIPD certificate.

Expensive and lengthy courses that don't rely on any evidence-based studies, and don't prepare anyone for the job they need to do. CIPD seems to be just a professional certificate mill, selling content necessary to get an HR job, but which produces people no good at actually doing the job in practice.

I wouldn’t recommend paying for this qualification out of your own personal money. I don’t feel that the CIPD course helped prepare me whatsoever for my roles in HR. I learnt everything needed on the job through shadowing my seniors and looking at past cases online and at the companies I worked at. ACAS and the government website are free, and you will be referring to them most of the time.
The only downside is that most UK companies expect you to have this qualification at the relevant level to get the job. It’s a vicious cycle. My recommendation is joining a company that will pay for it, do your time needed there and move on to get more real-life experience.
Something to keep in mind - Their annual fees have increased every year since I joined, and you do not get any more for it. In fact, they got rid of perk box a few years back with no replacement and we still had to pay more. Most companies I have worked at have not asked for me to have this membership and for the one company that did require me to have it compensated me for it.
There are plenty of LinkedIn and Facebook groups which your HR colleagues will use and are great for discussion points in the office.

I'd like to complain about the awful platform you have for your content, (Leading Learning and Development Accredited Programme), given that not saving progress is a known issue that the IT team is unable to solve.

I've submitted two tickets in January about losing progress on my accredited program, as well as my notes disappearing (even though I saved
them, lucky enough I had already downloaded them!) and the customer support informed me this is a well-known issue that is unsolved for a long time
now. I access my course always from the same laptop, same browser, none of the "solutions" you proposed solve this issue. Knowing I have 12 months to complete the program, and it doesn't save progress, how do you account for
this?

I'm an L&D professional, learning about motivating and engaging learners and I'm having the opposite experience. It's the worst I have ever had! I'll definitely not recommend taking CIPD courses to anyone thinking about it. I deeply regret having spent this huge amount of money on this course.

I did my CIPD Level 3 in HR from Bradfield in Dubai.

I got selected for PHRI and SHRM official training institutes as well in Cyprus but I chose CIPD (that too Level 3) thinking that its better than others and surely best in the field and it would give me great amount of basic practical knowledge and surely get me ahead in my career. Though all my peers in India strongly advised against it and asked me to go for SHRM as its an US certification which guarantees a job and it finishes off in less than three months.

Now I really regret my decision to have pursued CIPD as I am unable to redeem my CIPD status on job sites and have not got any single call for a job....I have applied for atleast 3000 vacancies around the globe.(You can go through my assignments to find out about my knowledge, intelligence and abilities).

It has become a sham for me as all the tall claims and promises seemed false about CIPD.

I invested all my hard earned savings into this as this is the most expensive professional HR qualification in the world( 20000 AED is very big amount in Indian currency) {and it lasted for almost two years for me(though the pandemic can be blamed for that)} but to not even a get a job even here in gulf for AED 3000 is really disturbing. Even labour class earns more than that here.

I am unemployed, with no money left...highly frustrated at the moment and have become a laughing stock in my circle....my peers jeer at me all the time. Its taking a heavy toll on my mental health and I made visits to a psychiatrist and a counsellor 6 times in last 4 months just to get a remedy for this depression.

I am also in talks with social media in UK to publish my story...this should be an eye opener for many Asians who pursue British qualifications hoping that would help them in their careers and finish off paying a huge sum of money only to realize in the end that their money goes to drain.

The worst experience ever. I have paid £1100 without accessing any course and when I decided to cancel the course they told me that I have to pay £397 cancellation fees. I have tried to explain that I didn't complete any course as I didn't have the necessary support, however, no one was interested in hearing me out as all they care is about the money. No one is interested if you are doing the courses you have enrolled to, if you are completing the assignments, all they care is about the money. Eventually, I had to pay the cancellation fee as there is no other way to get out of this situation. Wouldn’t recommend it as there is no support and you are ripped off. It is just a scam

Timetables are insane on level 7 not allowing working students adequate time to submit work. Expecting 4,000+ words on a submission within 14 days. Whilst starting new units and working on multiple units at once. The whole course group has either deferred or dropped out due to the insane timetable.

Like others I paid for and completed a CIPD course in April 2022 (level 5 diploma) and almost 6 months later I still haven’t received a certificate. I have nothing to confirm I’ve completed this course so I’m unable to use it for employment, CIPD keep pushing me back to my course provider and claim they haven’t sent over my assignments for moderation but this just isn’t the case. The service from CIPD is not fit for purpose and they should try to practice what they preach!

I completed my course through Avado in April of this year, my work has not been moderated by CIPD and keeps getting moved and moved.

I have now been told December for my certificate making it 8 months after my course!

All in the while they make you pay for an active membership with them or you don’t get the certificate.
I feel like they drag this out for as long as possible to get as much out of people as they can financially before they give in and give you a certificate.