WSET APP Policies

Pasona HR Solution Inc., as an Approved Program Provider (APP) for WSET, fully supports the principles of Equal Opportunities. We strive to ensure that all candidates for the WSET® qualifications are treated fairly and on an equal basis.

We do not discriminate in the provision of education or examinations on the grounds of race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or age (provided the legal minimum age for consumption of 20 is met). We work to ensure that we promote equality by:

For questions or candidates who believe they may have been unfairly discriminated against by Pasona HR Solution Inc., please contact us at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp.

A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification.

Examples of reasonable adjustments may be:

Upon enrollment students should communicate via email with the Head of Academy Eiji Nakamura at: culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp. The Head of Academy will discuss potential accommodations with the student and together assess which education accommodations can be made to enable more equitable learning. Some examples of reasonable adjustments to enhance education access include:

All students seeking assistance in learning due to special needs or disabilities will be accommodated to the best of our abilities.
Reasonable adjustments must be approved by WSET prior to an assessment in order to facilitate candidate access for the assessment. Should issues with the examination be anticipated due to the student’s special need, the candidate must complete a Reasonable Adjustment Application Form for submission to Caplan Wine Academy at least 6 weeks prior to the assessment for Level 1 to 3 and 10 weeks prior to assessment for Diploma examinations. Please contact us at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp to obtain the form.
Upon receipt of the request, the Head of Academy will submit the Reasonable Adjustment Application Form to the WSET Assessments Manager for specific arrangements to be made by WSET in conjunction with Pasona HR Solution Inc.

Pasona HR Solution Inc. is committed to providing a learning and working environment in which complaints are responded to promptly and with minimum distress to all parties. Pasona HR Solution Inc. is committed to a visible, accessible and fair complaints process.
Pasona HR Solution Inc. views student complaints as providing an opportunity to review and improve its policies and practices, and to gain insight into student levels of satisfaction.
Definitions
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by any member of staff or a representative of Pasona HR Solution Inc (Caplan Wine Academy).

The complaint may be in relation to any aspect of the course delivery, conduct of teaching staff or management, or matters pertaining to the examination process.

Whenever necessary, students are requested to discuss concerns or give feedback directly to the instructor or Pasona HR Solution Inc. staff member. However, should a student have a complaint about the school or instructors, a written complaint should be sent or emailed to the school administrator at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp.
Please provide us with your contact details (name, surname, address, email address, telephone number), specific details of the complaint, any supporting evidence you may have or details of any previous attempts you have made to resolve your complaint, outcome the complainant is looking for.
In order to better investigate the content of the complaint, complainant should issue their complaint no later than 10 working days after the issue in question has occurred.

Pasona HR Solution Inc. will respond in a timely manner to formal complaints with the aim of resolution taking 30 days or less.
Pasona HR Solution Inc. will make reasonable efforts to deal with the complaint. If the student remains dissatisfied with the level of service and solutions offered by Caplan concerning the issue they can file a complaint directly to WSET at QA@wsetglobal.com.

In case of complaints or concerns regarding grading of WSET exams, the candidate is required to complete an enquiry and feedback form and pay for a fee.
Therefore, the student should contact Pasona HR Solutions Inc for the Enquiry and Feedback Form and submit the form to WSET Exams team (exams@wsetglobal.com) within the specific timeframe (i.e. within 15 working days after the issue of the exam results to the APP). Please note that Feedback can only be given on failed exam or exam elements.

Pasona HR Solution Inc., as an Approved Program Provider for WSET, recognises that there may be circumstances where a candidate may need to request special consideration after an assessment, due to circumstances which may have unfairly disadvantaged the candidate.

Special consideration is an action taken after an assessment to allow candidates who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury or adverse circumstances at the time of the assessment to demonstrate attainment.
A candidate may be eligible for special consideration if:

Students must submit a Special Consideration Application Form to Pasona HR Solution Inc. Head of Wine Academy within 3 working days after the assessment date for which special consideration is being sought. The form can be obtained by contacting Caplan office staff at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp. Eligibility will only be considered if accompanied by supporting independent documentation. Pasona HR Solution Inc. will keep records of all applications for special consideration.
In cases of serious disruption during the exam, Pasona HR Solution Inc. will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET.

It is WSET® and Caplan policy that special considerations will not give unfair advantage over candidates for whom special considerations are not being applied, or alter the assessment　demands of the qualification as detailed in the qualification Specification.
Please note that WSET does not offer Aegrotat awards and that all assessment requirements of WSET qualifications must be met.

In consideration of students’ safety, if there is any concern that the smooth running of a lesson or of an exam may be impacted by an extreme weather event like a typhoon or heavy snow, Pasona HR Solution Inc. will reschedule said lesson or exam and communicate the decision to the students by email or telephone. Due to the unpredictable nature of these events, announcement timing may vary, but Pasona HR Solution Inc. commits to contact the students as soon as possible and, in any case, not later than six hours before the start of said lesson or exam.
In case of earthquake, the decision will involve an assessment of the gravity of the situation, possible disruption of train/traffic lines and, in general, the student and staff ability to safely reach the school. Having assessed all of this, in case a conclusion is reached that the smooth running of a lesson or exam is not possible, Pasona HR Solution Inc. will reschedule said lesson or exam and communicate the decision to the students by email or telephone. Due to the extreme unpredictable nature of this kind of events, announcement timing may vary, but Pasona HR Solution Inc. commits to contact the students as soon as possible.
If a LESSON is cancelled, a make-up lesson will be held on a different day, but no refunds will be made if the student is unable to attend on the make-up day.
If an EXAM is cancelled, the exam will be rescheduled to a different date. In this case students that are not able to take the exam in the new rescheduled date are kindly asked to contact the office by phone at 03-6634-9976 or by email at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp. Pasona HR Solution Inc. will do any reasonable effort to find a solution to the issue.
In no case Pasona HR Solution Inc. may be held responsible for travel costs related to the rescheduling of the lesson (including, but not limited to unused tickets, change of reservation fees and cancellation fees).

The goal of the Pasona HR Solution Inc. Malpractice and Maladministration policy is to protect both the interests of students and the integrity of WSET qualifications by ensuring compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures. This policy provides a framework for the identification, reporting, and management of potential malpractice or maladministration and an overview for the potential sanctions.

Non-compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures can fall into two distinct, but related,
categories:

Context is important and the line between maladministration or malpractice is not always clear: for example, maladministration incidents may become malpractice (e.g. if you fail to implement corrective measures, repeat the same or similar incident, or attempt 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.

Malpractice and maladministration may include but not limited to:

Non-compliance in an Assessment (Examination):

Pasona HR Solution Inc. is committed to ensuring compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures. During an examination, should an invigilator note non-compliance, they will record the situation and notify the Examinations Officer directly.
Should a WSET Candidate observe or suspect non-compliance during an examination, they are directed to contact Pasona HR Solution Inc. at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp.
WSET will be immediately notified by written note send directly to Quality Assurance by the Pasona HR Solution Inc. Examinations Officer.

Non-compliance by a school staff member or Educator:

Should a school staff member or Educator be suspected of non-compliance of WSET and/or Pasona HR Solution Inc. Policies or Procedures, the APP Main Contact Eiji Nakamura will record and submit a detailed report to WSET Quality Assurance.

Observed or suspected Malpractice or Maladministration by Candidates:

Should a WSET Candidate observe or suspect Malpractice or Maladministration at Pasona HR Solution Inc., they are directed to contact WSET directly at qa@wsetglobal.com

Following an investigation by WSET, if malpractice or maladministration is identified, WSET will consider its impact and map apply sanctions accordingly.

Interdiction for the student or graduate from use of WSET postnominals and WSET certified logos.Any candidate, educator and invigilator has the right to appeal any decision made against them as detailed in the Complaints Policy.

Student who wishes to appeal penalties or sanctions WSET have imposed due to Malpractice or Maladministration, please contact Pasona HR Solution Inc. at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp for detailed procedures.

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.
Examples of Conflicts of Interest include:

Some of these Conflicts of Interest can be managed and are therefore acceptable. For example, the marking of WSET Level 3 tasting assessments by Internal Assessors is verified by WSET to mitigate the risk of a Conflict of Interest. Similarly, where an employee of - of Pasona HR Solution Inc. undertakes a WSET qualification, measures can be put in place to maintain the integrity of the assessment, provided this has been notified to WSET in advance.
Some Conflicts of Interest cannot be managed and are not acceptable. For example, it would be inappropriate for an individual involved in the authoring of exam questions or the compilation of exam papers to teach or coach students.

Pasona HR Solution Inc. is required to identify to WSET and assist in managing or monitoring 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 Pasona HR Solution Inc. processes and procedures.

This policy applies to all Pasona HR Solution Inc. staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of Pasona HR Solution Inc. Pasona HR Solution Inc. will take all reasonable steps to prevent and/or mitigate such adverse effect where it exists.
It is the intent of Pasona HR Solution Inc. to treat all students equally and minimize practices which may be deemed unfair. As such, registration of any students which may be deemed to be at risk for being a conflict of interest will be noted by the Head of Academy Eiji Nakamura and forwarded to WSET. Pasona HR Solution Inc. will not engage in student preference, even for those closely affiliated with the school such as extra tutoring, pre or post exam access, or other potentially unfair practices.

Should anyone have questions about this policy, or should anyone become aware of a conflict of interest happening at Pasona HR Solution Inc., they are kindly requested to contact the staff at culture@pasona-hrs.co.jp as soon as possible. Pasona HR Solution Inc., 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 case-by-case basis. If WSET and Pasona HR Solution Inc., determine the conflict is not manageable, Pasona HR Solution Inc., will inform any impacted APP staff or students.

Any individual involved in the delivery of WSET qualifications at Pasona HR Solution Inc. who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest will inform WSET in writing immediately. Conflict of Interest declarations will be recorded by WSETon the Conflicts of Interest Register.

Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or Pasona HR Solutions Inc because APP is required to report conflicts to WSET as soon as possible.

（2024年7月5日制定；2024年7月23日改定）