Governance
Impartiality, complaints and appeals
A certificate is worth exactly as much as the independence of the body that issued it. These are the structural arrangements that make ours worth something, stated plainly enough to hold us to.
The consultancy firewall
Securo Cert does not provide readiness assessments, gap analysis, control implementation, documentation drafting or remediation consultancy to any organisation it audits or certifies. Not through an affiliate, not through a referral fee, not through a partner who returns the favour.
The reason is not squeamishness. A body that sells you the implementation and then audits it has an obvious interest in finding its own advice adequate, and every finding it raises is a finding against itself. The arrangement cannot produce an impartial result, however well-intentioned the individuals are.
Where an organisation has previously received advisory work from any entity under common ownership, a two-year cooling-off applies before Securo Cert will accept a certification engagement, and no individual who performed that work may be assigned to the audit team or the certification decision.
Separation of audit and decision
The people who conduct an audit do not decide its outcome. Findings go to a certification decision-maker who was not on the audit team and who has no commercial relationship with the client. This is the single control that most distinguishes a certification body from a consultancy that prints certificates.
Impartiality committee
An impartiality committee with representation from certified organisations, sector interests and independent members reviews conflict declarations, threats to impartiality arising from commercial pressure, and the handling of appeals. Its composition and minutes are available to our accreditation body on demand.
Committee composition is published once appointments are confirmed.
Complaints and appeals
An appeal challenges a certification decision. A complaint concerns conduct, service or the behaviour of a certified organisation. Both are handled by personnel who were not involved in the matter complained of.
Submission
In writing, within 30 days of the decision or event. Acknowledged within 5 business days.
Assessment
Reviewed for admissibility and assigned to personnel independent of the original decision.
Investigation
Evidence gathered from both sides. Target 30 business days, extended only with written notice and a reason.
Determination
Written outcome with reasoning. A certification decision may be upheld, varied or reversed.
Escalation
If the outcome is unsatisfactory, the matter may be taken to our accreditation body. We will tell you how, and we will not treat doing so as a breach of anything.
Suspension and withdrawal
Certification is suspended where surveillance is missed, where a major non-conformity is not corrected within the agreed window, or where certification marks are misused. Suspension is visible in the public register immediately. Withdrawal follows if the cause is not resolved.
Withdrawn entries are retained in the register permanently. Deleting them would make a void document harder to detect, which would serve nobody except the holder of the void document.