The basic rule is objective assessment and decision-making while maintaining the principle of equality between the parties. Each submission must be assessed by a responsible official and an independent body of the company must take an objective opinion on it. The applied policy precludes a particular interest or superior attitude towards the audited organization from prevailing in the decision-making. Each submission must be judged by content, not form, the merits of the matter must be identified. A procedure shall be in place to ensure that the submission is objectively and correctly assessed and decided.
Complaints and appeals shall be lodged in writing, orally or electronically:
The complaint must include:
If the complaint submitted electronically is not signed and the complainant does not confirm it with his/her handwritten signature within 5 working days of its submission, the complaint will be adjourned.
If the complaint does not meet the above requirements (for example, the complaint submitted electronically without a signature, or is anonymous), but provides important information in connection with compliance with certification requirements, the company may, at the discretion of the Head of the Certification Body, continue to investigate the complaint in such a way that it is possible to confirm its validity with a subsequent correction, or its unfoundedness.
A submission marked as a complaint, which is not in fact a complaint, shall be returned by the Secretariat to the applicant without delay, but no later than within 30 working days from the date of delivery stating the reason.
In the event of a complaint filed by a third party against the management system of an organization that is certified by our company, the Head of the Certification Body is contacted. Subsequently, the complaint and its substantiation are examined. If necessary, an extraordinary control audit will be ordered in the certified organization. If the substantiation of the submitted complaint is confirmed, the CeMS certification body may proceed to the suspension or revocation of the granted certificate.
The Head of the Certification Body can fully comply with the complaint or appeal when deciding on certification and change the decision on the merits or in the opinion. If the certification body's manager does not comply with the complaint in full, he will forward the entire file together with his statement to the second instance. The second instance is the Certification Board. The second instance may change, revoke or confirm the decision of the lead certification body. The Certification Board may refer the matter to the Head of the Certification Body for finalization before taking a decision. The decision of the second instance is final and binding on both parties. An appeal can be submitted within 14 days of notification of the result to the client (sending a confirmation or notification of non-issuance of a confirmation), a complaint within 14 days from the moment of its occurrence. Written confirmation is required to substantiate the complaint or appeal. The first instance must decide on the complaint or appeal within 60 days of its registration, or forward it to the second instance within the same period. The second instance shall decide on the matter no later than 40 days from the delivery of the documents to the first instance.
The complaint must be processed within 30 days. In particularly complex cases within 60 days. The complainant must be notified of any extension. The handling of a complaint must be notified to the complainant within 10 days of the final decision on the complaint.
In the case of a positive assessment, the appeal must be assessed by the first instance within 30 days of its registration. If the appeal is not upheld, it must be referred to the second instance within the same time limit. This assignment must be notified to the client in writing without delay. The second instance decides on the appeal within the same period of 30 days. If this period needs to be extended for serious reasons, the CEO must inform the client of the extension within this period. This extension may not exceed 30 days.
After handling any complaint or appeal, all documents related to the case are handed over to the Head of the Certification Body for registration, archiving and further use within the QMS review by management.
The certification body must provide the person who submitted the complaint with an official report on the completion of the complaint handling process.
