PeopleCert and City & Guilds Internal Investigation is Concluded

PeopleCert, the global leader in the development of best practice frameworks and certifications, today confirms the outcome of an internal investigation into the payment of bonus payments by former leaders of City & Guilds Limited (CGL) following its acquisition in October last year.

A spokesperson for PeopleCert said:

“In January, Kirstie Donnelly and Abid Ismail, formerly CEO and CFO of City & Guilds Limited (‘CGL’), were suspended from the business pending an internal investigation. In April, both were subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct without financial settlement following a disciplinary process. More recently, an appeal against this decision was not upheld and the matter is now closed, which enables us to now confirm the investigation’s findings.

“That investigation was commissioned promptly by the CGL Board in January, with a committee of highly experienced, Non-Executive Board members appointed, led by Dr Michael Milanovic, with the support of our external legal advisors, Balfour+Manson. The appeal process was led by CGL Non-Executive Director Richard McCarthy CBE.

“The investigation set out to explore the authorisation and payment of bonuses and salary increases by Kirstie Donnelly and Abid Ismail following PeopleCert’s acquisition. After gathering in-depth evidence from 15 witnesses, it found that they directly authorised and paid bonuses to themselves, other members of the Executive Leadership Team (‘ELT’) and a further 60 colleagues totalling approximately £5m from CGL funds without authorisation from, or knowledge of, City & Guilds London Institute, the CGL Board or PeopleCert.

“These payments were not brought to the attention of PeopleCert until December 2025, a month after they had been paid, and there was no provision, board resolution, or other binding instrument that authorised these payments.

“It also found that salary increases for the ELT and other colleagues were also made without formal authorisation from the CGL Board or PeopleCert.

“These actions were in direct breach of their duties and responsibilities as office holders and caused significant harm to the organisation’s reputation.

“In the case of Kirstie Donnelly and Abid Ismail, we intend to take all action available to ensure the recovery of these amounts (£1.7m and £1.2m respectively) and will make appropriate referrals to the relevant authorities.

“Whilst there was no evidence of wrongdoing on their part, we will also be requesting repayment of serving ELT members’ bonus payments in full.

“All bonus payments made to the other 60 colleagues will be ratified by PeopleCert and no attempt will be made recover the amounts, given the investigation’s conclusion that recipients were neither fully aware nor instrumental in the scheme.

“This has been a complex and protracted matter, but we’ve moved as quickly as the necessary process would allow us.

“What is important, is that we do the right thing in order to rebuild trust in the organisation. 

“The findings of the investigation have been shared in full with the Charity Commission to assist with their ongoing inquiry. We have already informed the relevant regulators and will be proactively updating media today.

“The company will continue to ensure the highest standards of integrity and professionalism and take a zero-tolerance approach to any actions that breach policy and harm its reputation. 

“A further investigation has begun into allegations of manipulation of information provided to bidders during the sale process, following information that was first brought to us by The Times newspaper.

“We remain fully committed to delivering the transformation needed to make City & Guilds a modern, trusted, technology-enabled, learner-centric organisation, whilst maintaining the highest standards of integrity, governance and regulatory compliance, and ultimately to transform lives through skills.”