Disclaimer: The term “certified” shall only be used for personnel certifications, based on ISO/IEC 17024 requirements. The term “certificate holder” shall only be used for certificate programs, based on ASTM E2659 requirements. Certificate holders are not certified, licensed, accredited, or registered to engage in a specific occupation or profession.
The purpose of this policy is to define the actions to be taken in the event that a complaint or appeal is received from candidates, certified persons, certificate holders and other parties with regard to a certified person, a certificate holder or decisions related to the certification process or certificate program, as well as complaints for the overall PECB operations for which appeals are not applicable.
This policy is not applicable for complaints related to alleged illegal, financial, or regulatory issues, which will be handled by proper authorities.
This policy covers two different scopes and types of complaints (as defined by PECB) outlined as in the following:
This policy is mainly based on the clause 9.8 (Appeals against decisions on certification), 9.9 (Complaints) of ISO/IEC 17024:2012, 5.8 (Complaints) and 5.9 (Appeals) of ASTM E2659-18.
Complainant:
Complaint:
Appeal:
Certification process:
Operations complaint (PECB term):
Some general rules for filing a complaint or an appeal are as in the following:
All complaints relating to a certified person, certificate holder or the certification process or certificate program are reviewed by the CEO and/or a designated employee assigned by him or her. The designated employee will not be part of the staff involved in the assessment against which a certification complaint or appeal is being raised.
In the event that the individuals filing the certification complaint are not satisfied with the review and the decision made upon the complaint, they may consider filing an appeal.
Subsequently, PECB appoints an Appeal Board which is in charge of the appeal process and is accountable for safeguarding the impartiality with regard to the appeal.
The Appeal Board is composed of at least three members with a majority of members being independent of the PECB personnel. Upon the request of the Appeal Board, the management will provide the board with all the necessary information, including the reasons for all significant decisions, actions, and the selection of persons responsible for particular activities, to allow PECB to ensure proper and impartial decision.
The Appeal Board is independent of management in their recommendations except as required by international or national law. If the recommendation of the board is not respected by the management, the board will take appropriate measures, which may include informing the accreditation body.
The members of the Appeal Board are independent and impartial members assigned by PECB. In the event that a member or members of the Appeal Board have a conflict of interest, based upon the facts or circumstances of a specific appeal, including employment or other affiliations of the appellant, PECB management in conjunction with the Appeal Board will select a substitute member or members to hear and decide upon that claim. PECB has the right to appoint its Impartiality and Certification Appeals (ICA) Committee members as Appeal Board members if the criteria are met.
When candidates disagree with the decisions made by PECB related to their certification process or the certificate program, they must declare in writing the reasons for disagreement to PECB, and ask for a re-evaluation, via email, within 30 days from receiving PECB’s initial decision. Re-evaluation requests received after 30 days will not be processed. Re-evaluation requests are not considered complaints.
If candidates still do not agree with the re-evaluated decision from PECB, they should submit a certification complaint in writing through PECB Ticketing System, no later than 30 days after receiving the re-evaluated decision. Certification complaints received after 30 days will not be processed.
Certification complaints about a certified person or certificate holder can be raised anytime.
The certification complaint, other than the personal information (full name, address, and other contact details) of the complainant, should include the complainant’s personal opinion about the assessment, the reasons for disapproval of the decision reached during the initial decision and re-evaluation, as well as the settlement being sought. A notice of acknowledgment will be sent by PECB within 24 hours following the certification complaint reception. The reception of the complaint triggers its initial assessment.
The submission, investigation, and decision on certification complaints will not result in any discriminatory actions against the complainant.
Certification complaints will be reviewed by the CEO and/or a designated employee assigned by him or her. The designated employee will not be part of the staff involved in the initial decision. The reviewer of the certification complaint should consider the complainant’s explanation and provide a written response, which includes:
The reviewer of the certification complaint should reply within 60 calendar days after receiving a complaint. The complainant will receive an answer on the decision reached in writing (via email or the PECB Ticketing System).
If the complainant agrees with the outcome at this stage, the certification complaint does not proceed to further stages.
If complainants are not satisfied with the outcome, then they may file an appeal, within 30 days from receiving the reply from PECB (see 6.3.2 Appeals Process).
If necessary, PECB will take appropriate correction and corrective/preventive actions.
All certification complaints, including actions taken, will be tracked and recorded by PECB.
To file a certification complaint, the following steps should be taken:
Information to include in your certification complaint:
Besides personal information (full name, email address, telephone), write in the message box your opinion about the assessment and why you are not satisfied with the initial decision and re-evaluation.
Where complainants disagree with the certification or certificate program decisions of the re-evaluation stage and the certification complaint, they then may proceed to the appeal stage, explaining the reasons for disagreement.
Steps to be followed by the appellant:
Steps to be followed by PECB:
To file an appeal, the following steps should be taken:
Information to include in your appeal:
Beside personal information (full name, email address, telephone), write in a message box your opinion about the assessment and why you are not satisfied with the initial decision, re-evaluation, and the review done by PECB after the certification complaint.
Operations complaints and all their relevant information will be recorded, upon its reception, in the PECB Ticketing System. The person wishing to make operations complaints can do so directly through submitting a service ticket. Operations complaints received via email will be recorded in the PECB Ticketing System (alongside with the email) by the receiver of the complaint. Only written operations complaints will be recorded. Verbal operations complaints will have to be converted into written form. Note: When submitting a ticket, it is important that the category “Complaint” is selected.
In order for the operations complaints to be handled effectively, the complaint record must contain all the information necessary, including the complainant’s full name, email, and phone number, the department and staff member involved in the complaint, the description of the complaint, and the date. Once recorded, the operations complaints are to be tracked through the whole complaint handling process until the final decision.
A notice of acknowledgment is sent by PECB within 24 hours following the complaint reception. An initial assessment is conducted within 3 calendar days following the complaint reception.
All operations complaints initiated are considered Level 1 and will be investigated and handled by the Head of Division (HoD) to whom the complaint has been addressed or the Head of Customer Service Department. The person initially addressing the operations complaints will investigate the complaint and offer a response to the complainant within 15 calendar days.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the response of Level 1 investigation, the complainant has the right to file for a Level 2 operations complaint. The complaint is assigned to the immediate supervisor of the HoD or top management to be investigated independently in coordination with the internal auditor or any other independent employee designated for the investigation.
During Level 2 support, the person responsible will assess the operations complaints. Based on the assessment, they will offer a response to the complainant within 60 calendar days. The response will be communicated in writing along with all evidence reviewed (if applicable).
Once the response of the Level 2 investigation is received by the complainant, it is considered a final response from PECB, and at this stage, the complainant can only agree or disagree with the final response, but in either case, the process ends . In case there is a conflict of interest, real or implied, with the Level 2 support, e.g., between the HoD or top management or internal auditor and the complainant, an independent and external investigator will be appointed to conduct the Level 2 investigation.
All operations complaints must be submitted and communicated in writing via the PECB Ticketing System based on the steps below:
Information to include in your operations complaints:
Besides personal information (full name, email address, phone number), write in the message box the description of the operations complaint, the department and staff member involved, if applicable, and the date.
Version: 2.7, Latest update: 2023/01/25
1. Purpose
2. Scope
3. References
4. Terms and Definitions
5. General Rules for Filing a Complaint or an Appeal
6. Certification Complaints
6.1 Procedure Overview
6.2 Criteria for Selecting the Appeal Board Members
6.3 Operating Procedure
6.3.1 Certification Complaint
6.3.1.1 Instructions on Filing a Certification Complaint
6.3.2 Appeal Process
6.3.2.1 Instructions for Filing an Appeal
7. Operations Complaints
7.1 Procedure Overview
7.2 Operating procedure
7.2.1 Operations Complaint Level 1
7.2.2 Operations Complaint Level 2
7.3 Instructions for Filing Operations Complaints