Impartiality
Conflict of Interest Policy
WWEC assessments and certification decisions must be impartial. This policy sets out how conflicts of interest are declared, assessed and managed to protect the credibility of the scheme.
Conflict of interest
Identified, declared, evaluated and managed.
WWEC maintains controls for identifying, declaring, evaluating and managing actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest that could affect certification activities.
Personnel participating in certification activities may be required to disclose relevant relationships, interests or previous involvement with an organisation being assessed.
Conflicts are evaluated before personnel are assigned to applicable certification activities.
Where a conflict cannot be effectively managed, the individual shall not participate in the relevant activity.
Conflict-of-interest records are maintained in accordance with applicable WWEC procedures and document-control requirements.
Principles
Impartiality is non-negotiable.
Impartiality is a condition
Impartiality is a condition of assessment, decision-making and scheme governance.
All relevant individuals must
All relevant individuals must declare any interest that could affect impartiality.
Conflicts are assessed before
Conflicts are assessed before appointment to an assessment or decision role.
Where a conflict exists,
Where a conflict exists, the individual is removed from the role or the conflict is mitigated.
Mitigation measures are documented
Mitigation measures are documented and reviewed by an independent party.
Commercial or personal relationships
Commercial or personal relationships with an applicant do not influence the outcome.
Declare vs disqualify
Situations that must be declared — and what happens next.
- Current or recent employment by, or consultancy for, the applicant organisation.
- Financial interest in the applicant organisation or a direct competitor.
- Family or close personal relationship with a senior leader or decision-maker of the applicant.
- Prior involvement in designing, implementing or marketing the applicant’s workplace policies.
- Any other relationship or circumstance that could reasonably be seen to impair objectivity.
- Impartiality is a condition of assessment, decision-making and scheme governance.
- All relevant individuals must declare any interest that could affect impartiality.
- Conflicts are assessed before appointment to an assessment or decision role.
- Where a conflict exists, the individual is removed from the role or the conflict is mitigated.
- Mitigation measures are documented and reviewed by an independent party.
- Commercial or personal relationships with an applicant do not influence the outcome.
Process
How conflicts are managed.
Every declaration follows the same documented route, from collection through to retained records.
Declare
Annual and engagement-specific declarations are collected from assessors and decision-makers.
Review
WWEC reviews declarations before assigning an individual to an assessment.
Escalate
Potential conflicts are escalated to the WWEC governance function.
Mitigate
A mitigation plan or replacement is agreed and documented before the assessment proceeds.
Pause
If a conflict arises mid-assessment, work pauses and governance is notified.
Retain
Declarations, decisions and mitigation records are retained under the records policy.
This policy applies to all individuals involved in WWEC assessment, certification decision-making, governance and related activities. Failure to disclose a conflict may lead to removal from the activity and other applicable action.
Trust comes from independence.
If you believe a conflict of interest has not been properly managed, you may raise it through the Appeals & Complaints process.