Rules and Regulations

Scheme Rules, Regulations, Complaints and Appeals:

The RQS Holdings certification regulations and other services regulations are presented below.

• These regulations relate to certification by a member of the RQS Holdings. For the purpose of these regulations, "RQS Holdings" Means Brand operates under Registrar of Quality Systems and the RQS Holdings encompasses all associated brands and related companies.

  "Logo" Means the logo approved by the RQS Holdings.

  "Appeals Committee" Means a committee of the RQS Holdings Independent Certification Board established for the purpose of hearing appeals. The panel appointed in respect of each appeal will consist of a Chairman and at least two members of the Independent Certification Board, none of whom shall have any direct interest in the subject of the appeal.

  "Applicant" Means an individual, body corporate or body incorporate which has applied but has not yet been granted a certificate for the scope of the application, whether this be for certification, Inspection or other related service.

  "Board" Means the Board established as the governing body of the RQS Holdings.

  "Standard, or Scheme" Means the standard or scheme for which the Client is seeking Certification (e.g.: ISO 9001) and, or Inspection services, or related services provided by the RQS Holdings.

  "Certificate" Means a certificate recognizing that the management system, or Inspection performed, or Training given, or other service which produces a Certificate output, granted to the organization having been assessed by a RQS Holdings member in accordance with these regulations.

  "Registered Organization" Means an individual, body corporate or body incorporate which has been granted a certificate by a RQS Holdings member.

  "Documented Management System" Means a set of documents/descriptions/protocols/Std. Operating Procedures/Work Instructions, or other formal instructions serving to implement the system of an organization which sets out the specific practices, resources and activities of that organization relevant to achieving compliance with a particular standard, specification or otherwise specified requirement, plus, if appropriate, practices and activities relevant to specific Codes of Practice.

• The appropriate RQS Holdings member shall be entitled to charge fees at a level to be determined from time to time having regard to its costs relating to the administration of its schemes: An organization shall pay:
  • A fixed annual fee, or other fee agreement as agreed in writing for each certificate granted (this will include costs of surveillance, where appropriate), which shall not in general be returnable.
  • Additional fees for assessment, supervision, re-issue or endorsement of the certificate and administration such as shall from time to time be determined by the board to be fair and appropriate.
  • A final assessment fee upon termination of the certificate, however determined if such assessment be required by the certificate board.
  • Any additional costs incurred by the RQS Holdings member due to the certified organizations non-compliance with these regulations.
  • Whilst it is the Group?s policy to offer competitive fees, clients which cancel pre-arranged visits without reasonable notice (less than 5 working days), may force a charge to be levied for such a cancellation, given that travel arrangements and accommodation may have been booked in order to provide an economic tour to be made by the auditor to keep costs, and therefore, fees to a realistic level. Further, the situation can be aggravated when sub-contract auditors are used for audit assignments.Given the above, clients will no doubt avoid such requests and fully understand the above policy and appreciate that any notice of cancellation should be made in writing to the local office.
  • Travel expenses, as applicable, and related to certification activities.
  • All fees may be payable in advance of the activity to which they refer i.e. Application fee prior to document review; Assessment fee prior to assessment: and Annual Surveillance fee prior to surveillance, except where a continual payment method is used e.g. Standing Order or other arrangements have been approved by the appropriate RQS Holdings member.

• The RQS Holdings member shall:Send a representative to the registered organization in line with the agreed surveillance programme (or appoint an evaluator for assessment of documents and records at a RQS Holdings designated office), which will be notified to the client (these visits are normally once or twice a year) for the purpose of verifying that the obligations imposed by the certification rules are being carried out.

• • If a registered organization is temporarily unable to comply with the requirements of these regulations, the RQS Holdings member may require the registered organization to discontinue use of the logo, and/or any claim to be a registered organization with immediate effect until they are satisfied that the conditions of certification are again achieved or pending the result of any appeal under regulation 12.
• • If a registered organization fails to comply with these regulations the RQS Holdings member may, subject to the provisions in regulation 12 as appropriate: (i) Suspend or withdraw the certificate or reduce its scope (ii) Refuse to grant or renew the certificate or extend its scope. Such decisions, and the grounds for them, shall be communicated to the registered organization in writing. Reasons for suspension/withdrawal include: failure to comply with these regulations; persistent or serious failure to meet certification requirements including the requirement to maintain effectiveness of the certified management system; not allowing surveillance or recertification audits to be conducted at the required frequencies; and client request. Failure to resolve the issues leading to suspension or highlighted during audits/visits/complaints, in the agreed time frame (not to exceed 6 months), non payment of fees, will result in withdrawal or reduction of the scope of certification.
• • The RQS Holdings may, at their discretion, and subject to regulation 12, revoke or refuse to grant or renew a certificate if the registered organization becomes subject to the bankruptcy laws or makes any arrangements or composition with its creditors, or enters into liquidation, whether compulsory or voluntary (but not including liquidation for the purpose of reconstruction), or has a receiver of its business appointed, or is convicted of an offence tending to discredit the registered organizations reputation and good faith as a trader. Such decisions, and the grounds for them, shall be communicated to the registered organization in writing.

• In the event of a registered organization or applicant wishing to appeal against any decision of the RQS Holdings Schemes Manager, Independent Certification Board under these regulations, it shall be within 21 clear days after having been officially informed of such a decision, giving notice in writing to the Independent Certification Board of its desire to appeal against that decision.

  A meeting of an appeal committee constituted in accordance with the regulations will be held within 30 clear days of receipt of such notice, and the appellant shall be given at least 7 clear days notice of the time and place of such a meeting.

  The appellant will be advised as to the constitution of the appeals committee with respect to the individual candidature and shall be given the opportunity to object to any member of the committee. Such objections must be notified to the Schemes manager in writing, and the appeals committee will be duly re-constituted if upheld.

  The Schemes Managers decision shall remain in force pending any meeting of the appeals committee. At such meeting, both the appellant and the Schemes Manager shall be entitled to be heard in confidence. The decision of the majority of the appeals committee as declared by its chairman shall be final.

• Should a client wish to make a complaint against the service offered by any member of the RQS Holdings, they should, in the first instance, write to the Schemes Manager at the appropriate RQS Holdings member Head Office. The contact addresses can be found on the RQS Holdings website .
• As an accredited registrar the relevant Accreditation Bodies reserve the right to perform witnessed audits on our auditors, evaluators, or Inspectors, you therefore need to be aware that as a registered client, for some schemes, standards there maybe instances where the auditor, evaluator, or Inspector will be accompanied by an auditor(s) from the relevant Accreditation Body. As a registered client you are obliged to allow the Accreditation Body auditor(s) to carry out the witnessed audit on your site.

Regulations of Logo use

• This logo demonstrates that the organization has a Management System to assure compliance to the System standard"
• You are not permitted to make any misleading statement regarding its certification and must amend all advertising material if their scope of certification has been reduced.
• You must not use or permit the use of a certification document or any part thereof in a misleading manner. i.e. the logo(s) can only be used in conjunction with the name and location that gained the certification/registration.
• Upon suspension or withdrawal of the certificate(s) you must discontinue the use of all advertising materials (hardcopy and/or electronic versions) that contains any reference to certification.
• Misuse of the accreditation mark and/or certification logo may be cause for withdrawal of your certification, this includes implying that the certification applies to activities that are outside of the scope of certification.

If you need to verify the validity of a certificate issued by RQS Certification, you can do so here:

( If you are audited but your certificate is not issued , you can search your certificate stage here)

To check the details of our clients or verify the certificates of approval, certifications granted, suspended or withdrawn, please use the search engine bottom.

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