Controlling public principle
The rule an outsider should be able to rely on
Any person or organization may raise a concern about Clause5afe conduct, personnel, certification activity, public representations, mark use, or impartiality.
Access
Who may complain
Current, former, and prospective clients, end users, industry participants, regulators, standards bodies, Clause5afe personnel, and members of the public may submit a complaint. Anonymous complaints are accepted and investigated to the extent the available information permits.
- A complaint does not need legal language or a perfect format to be accepted.
- Good-faith reporting and participation in an investigation are protected from retaliation.
- Employment grievances and contractor disputes follow their applicable internal procedures.
Scope
Complaint or appeal
A complaint concerns conduct, behavior, process, representation, impartiality, or certification validity. An appeal challenges a specific certification decision on one of the grounds defined by the Appeals Policy.
When a submission contains both, the appropriate channels may run in parallel with coordination to avoid duplication.
Procedure
Acknowledgment, review, and decision
The source policy targets acknowledgment within 5 business days, initial assessment within 10 business days, categorization notice within 15 business days, investigation within 45 business days, a resolution determination within 10 business days after investigation, and outcome notice within 5 business days after resolution.
- The initial review classifies the concern, checks conflicts, considers immediate protective measures, and determines whether referral is required.
- The investigator reviews relevant records, interviews appropriate people, and documents evidence that supports and contradicts the allegation.
- The investigator must not have participated in the events under review. A complaint about the COO is assigned by the Board.
- The person deciding the resolution must be independent of the conduct under review and must not simply approve their own investigation.
Outcomes
What resolution can produce
A complaint may be substantiated with corrective action, substantiated where prior action already resolved the issue, not substantiated, referred to another process, or withdrawn. A serious certification-validity or independence concern may continue to be reviewed after withdrawal.
- Possible corrective action includes process correction, personnel action, supplemental review, re-audit, marketing correction, conflict remediation, or certification status review.
- A complaint does not automatically change certification status.
- A resulting status change is reflected through the controlled Registry process when applicable.
Confidentiality
Protected process, accountable record
The complainant's identity and investigation material are limited to people with a legitimate need to know, subject to fair-process and legal requirements. Outcome notices confirm the conclusion and whether corrective action was taken without exposing confidential personnel or client information.
Complaint records are retained for at least seven years, and aggregate trends are reviewed for systemic issues and continuous improvement.
How to begin
Use the public contact route
Use the Clause5afe Contact page and choose the complaint or appeal procedure. While secure online routing is unavailable, the page provides a verified direct-contact option. Do not send protected certification evidence or security secrets through the public form or ordinary email; Clause5afe will establish an appropriate protected channel when needed.
Authority boundary
What this policy does not authorize
The complaints process may trigger corrective action or certification review, but it does not bypass the independent certification decision process or replace the defined appeals route.
Controlled information
What remains outside the public layer
- Investigation work product
- Personnel and client-confidential information
- Security-sensitive evidence and privileged communications
