COMPLAINTS POLICY

At Certified Proud, we take complaints extremely seriously. If a member company acts in a way that you believe breaks The Certified Proud Principles, please let us know. We commit to investigating the complaint and rectifying it in an effective manner.  

Who Can Make A Complaint

Complaints can be made by anyone who has witnessed a member company not adhering to The Certified Proud Principles. This includes, but it is not limited to,:

• A member company’s customers

• A member company’s employees

• By-passers of a member company (examples witnesses of physical breaches; witnesses of digital breaches)

Types of Complaint & Their Treatment

Material

Where a member company does not adhere to one, or several, of The Certified Proud Principles.

We will review the non-adherence with the member company’s point of contact and try to rectify the issue as soon as possible. The complaint and subsequent actions  will be recorded for the company’s annual audit. Continued non-adherence may lead to a ban on renewal or membership fee increases.

Harassment / Bullying

Where a member of the LGBTQ+ community experiences homophobia, biphobia or transphobia at, or from, a member company. This can be physical, verbal or online. 

We will report the incident/ incidents to the relative person/ department in the member company. We will work with the member company to rectify the issue, and ask for a full report once rectified. The incident will be recorded for the company’s annual audit. If the issue is not rectified, it may lead to a ban on renewal or membership fee increases.

Fraudulent

Where a company uses the Certified Proud logo and materials, despite not being a member of the network. This includes companies who were previous members who do renew their membership, but continue to use Certified Proud branding. 

It is illegal to use the Certified Proud brand without signing an in-date service agreement. Using the brand without up-to date permissions may result in legal action.

The Complaint Process

1. Complaints can be made at www.certifiedproud.com/complaints. 

2. Each complainant will need to submit the details of their complaint, along with their own details.

3. When a complaint is received, a member of the Certified Proud team will contact the complainant to discuss the details of the complaint in detail and to assess the validity of the complaint. 

4. Once all of the details have been ascertained by Certified Proud and the complaint is considered valid, we will forward the matter to our contact person in the member company.

5. The member company will have 30 days to investigate the complaint internally, rectify the issue and create an action plan to ensure the issue does not arise again, if appropriate. This action plan will be presented to Certified Proud, who will monitor the issue on an ongoing basis. The complaint and subsequent actions will be reviewed at the company’s annual audit.

6. Once the complaint has been rectified and an action plan is in place, Certified Proud will inform the complainant of the results. 

7. The complainant has the right to remain anonymous to the member company. All details will be held by Certified Proud, in accordance with our privacy policy. 

Disclaimer

Certified Proud is a third party organisation in this complaints process. We relay the complaints to the appropriate parties, and any action taken is at their discretion. The only action Certified Proud takes is to decide if the rectifying action a member organisation takes to resolve the complaint  is of the standard to be included in the Certified Proud network.  No legal action can be taken against Certified Proud for any complaints against member organisations or subsequent actions taken by member organisations to rectify the complaint.