In the event of certificate withdrawal or if a client does not accept a non-conformity or recommendation for registration, the client has the right of appeal

Should the client intend to appeal then they should inform the auditor during the closing meeting, at which time the auditor should direct the client to contact the SCC office and request an appeal form.

The appeal form should be completed as well as a formal documented substantiation for submission to SCC within fourteen days of the receipt of the intention of withdrawal notice or the date of the audit.

Appeals will receive an acknowledgment of receipt immediately and the first level investigation shall be completed within a maximum of 30 days from initial receipt.

Upon receipt of the completed appeals form, the details will be entered onto the appeals register to enable tracking of the status of the appeal,

All client appeals will be initially reviewed by the appointed certificate decision maker(s) and SCC audit staff responsible for the recommendation to withdraw the certificate or identification of the non-conformity – who must provide evidence to support their recommendation.

Should the appointed decision maker reject the appeal then it will passed to the Impartiality Committee for appraisal. Should the Impartiality Committee concur with the decision maker(s) finding then the appeals committee, drawn from the independent members of the impartiality committee shall consider the appeal.

The appellant will be advised of the names of the appeals committee and the appellant has the right to dispute the members of the appeals committee by formal notification of their dispute. This dispute will be reviewed by the chairman of the committee or, if the chairman is a member of the appeals committee, by the vice-chairman. The result of the appeals committee review will be notified to the client.

The decision of the appeals committee is final and shall be binding on both parties. Once the decision on the appeal has been made no counter claim by either party can be made to amend or change the decision.

The decision of the appeals committee shall be communicated to the appellant without delay

In instances where the appeal has been successful, and the certificate is re-instated or the non-conformity is removed a NCR shall be identified in line with SCC procedures and actions taken to identify and address the underlying cause of the failure that led to the appeal.