Last Reviewed: 05/08/23

Impartiality Policy Statement

3Core² Certification Limited and its Directors, Managers and Staff fully understand the importance of impartiality in undertaking its certification, inspection, and compliance activities. 3Core² Certification will therefore ensure that in all its dealings with clients or potential clients all employees or other personnel are and will remain impartial. 

To ensure that impartiality is both maintained and can be demonstrated, 3core2 Certification Ltd has identified and risk assessed all relationships which may result in a conflict of interest or pose a threat to impartiality. Furthermore, the following principals have been established: 

• 3Core² Certification are only issued following a review by an independent authorised and competent member of the management team (who has not been involved in the audit) to ensure that no interest shall predominate.
• 3Core² Certification has one or more named person(s) who will deputize in the absence of any technical manager responsible for ongoing inspection activities 
• 3Core² Certification does not offer (and has never offered) management system consultancy or any other form of consultancy to companies or individuals.   
• 3Core² Certification does not offer (and has never offered) an internal audit service to companies or individuals. 
• 3Core² Certification does not own or have any interest (financial or otherwise) in any other company that offers certification, management system consultancy for accredited standards that 3Core² Certification certificates or internal audit services. 
• 3Core² Certification does not have (and will not form) any relationships with companies who offer consultancy, internal audit services or other services that can be construed as having an impact on the certification services provided by 3Core² Certification. Any proposed relationship between 3Core² Certification and any other company will undergo a risk assessment as part of the risk treatment planning prior to that relationship being formalised. Any current relationships with companies, organisations and individuals will be risk assessed on a regular basis to ensure that the relationship does not impact upon the impartiality of the certification process. 
• Individuals employed by or otherwise contracted to 3Core² Certification are required to document and record their current and past relationships with all companies. Any situation past or present which may present a potential conflict of interest is required by 3Core² Certification to be declared. 3Core² Certification will use the information to identify any threats to impartiality and will not use that individual in any capacity unless they can demonstrate that there is no conflict of interest.   
• 3Core² Certification will not allocate a member of staff or sub-contractor to a management system audit or inspection activities where any past relationship has existed. Exceptionally and at the discretion of the Directors an individual or sub-contractor may be allocated to a management system audit where a past relationship has existed but there has been no relationship for a minimum of 2 years.   
• 3Core² Certification will not allocate a member of staff or sub-contractor to perform any part of an internal audit upon their own work to ensure independence of the audit undertaken.
• 3Core² Certification does not and will not offer any commission, (‘finders fees’ or other inducements) to any individual or company in respect of referrals of clients unless: 
• The terms and conditions of any such referral are clearly established and can be demonstrated and it can also be demonstrated that the fee is for a referral and the fact that a commission has been paid will in no way affect the outcome of an audit. 
• A risk assessment (to establish the potential for an unacceptable threat to impartiality) has been carried out on the process through which any such payment is made to an individual or organisation (normally a consultant) requesting the commission for referrals. 
• All such payments are documented, recorded, and traceable and accompanied by a purchase order and invoice. 
• 3Core² Certification does not offer specific training to any company in respect of implementing a particular standard for that company. Any training offered by 3Core² Certification is general in nature and available to all companies or individuals who wish to attend. 
• 3Core² Certification will ensure that it is not linked or marketed in any way which links it with the activities of a management system consultancy and will take appropriate action should any such link be identified. 
• Auditors and others involved in the certification process are not and will not be put under any pressure and will not be influenced in any way to come to a particular conclusion regarding the result of an audit.