Last Reviewed: 09/08/2023

1. Suspension of certification

• The client’s management system has persistently or seriously failed to meet certification requirements.
• The client’s management system is no longer compliant with the certified standard(s) and the failure(s) within the management system are so serious that certification can no longer be justified.
• Where the client has failed to address the requirements of any new issues / versions of existing standards (upgrades) and any such failure is so serious that certification can no longer be justified.
• The certified client does not allow surveillance or recertification audits to be conducted at the required frequencies.
• The certified client has voluntarily requested a suspension.
• Failure of a client to comply with the financial requirements of the agreement entered into with 3Core² Certification Ltd. i.e. non-payment of invoices.
• Failure to supply evidence that correction and / or corrective actions have been implemented to address identified failures in the client’s management system.

Upon suspension of the certification by 3Core² Certification Ltd. for whatever reason, the client shall be notified in writing and provided with the details of the appeal procedure. Suspensions will only be lifted following receipt of evidence that the actions needed for 3Core² Certification Ltd. to consider lifting the suspension have been completed within the required timescale, and which are deemed satisfactory upon review.

If the Certification Decision Maker agrees with the recommendation, the suspension will be authorised for a period not normally exceeding six months.

• If the client has an integrated management system, an application review must be completed to assess the impact on the audit time required to complete the audit cycle.

Upon suspension of the certification by 3Core² Certification Ltd. for whatever reason, the client shall be notified in writing describing:

• The grounds for the decision.
• The actions needed for 3Core² Certification Ltd. to consider lifting the suspension and the required timescale.

Details of the appeal procedure as defined in P09, Appeals & Complaints.

• The requirement to refrain from promotion of their certification status.

•           Inform the client that their management system is temporarily invalid.

Withdrawal of a client’s certification would be considered in the following circumstances:

• The client is no longer in business.
• The client has voluntarily requested deregistration.
• The client has failed to address the identified actions within the required timescale needed for 3Core²

Certification Ltd. to consider lifting a suspension.

•     The client has persistently or seriously failed to meet the certification requirements for their intended scope of certification.

Should 3Core² Certification Ltd. cease to offer certification against a standard to which

a client is certified, the client will be immediately informed in writing as to the reasons.

If the client has an integrated management system, an application review must be completed to assess the impact on the audit time required to complete the audit cycle.

Upon withdrawal of the certification by 3Core² Certification Ltd. for whatever reason, the client shall be notified in writing describing:

• The grounds for the decision.
• Details of the appeal procedure as defined in P10, Appeals & Complaints.

The requirement to refrain from promotion of their certification status and to remove all references to certification and 3Core² Certification Ltd. from any documentation, website, literature etc.