Governance, Recognition & Complaints

What OSHEM is

OSHEM (Occupational Safety, Health & Environment Management Board Ltd) is an independent international certification body. We design HSE qualifications and CPD courses, set the assessment standards, and issue certificates through a network of Approved Training Partners who deliver the training itself. We are not owned by, or affiliated with, any single training provider, employer, or government body — that independence is what makes an OSHEM certificate mean the same thing regardless of which partner delivered the course.

Recognition and regulatory status

We are direct about this because too many learners find out the hard way, after they've paid: OSHEM qualifications are not regulated by Ofqual and do not sit on the UK Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). We do not use Ofqual or RQF branding, and the "levels" in our ICHSE framework (Awareness, Practitioner, Professional) refer to OSHEM's own progression structure, not an RQF level.

What OSHEM certificates are: independent professional credentials, each backed by a published syllabus, a documented assessment process, and instant public verification by certificate number or QR code at oshem.co.uk/verify.html. Employers can check exactly what a learner was assessed on and confirm the certificate is genuine, at any time, without contacting us.

OSHEM is a registered UK company and our CPD-track courses are being progressed for accreditation through The CPD Certification Service. Where a course carries CPD accreditation, that will be stated on the individual course page and on the certificate itself — we do not apply an accreditation claim to a course that hasn't actually been through the process.

Quality assurance framework

Every qualification and every partner is governed by a documented framework covering:

• Qualification standards — published specifications with defined learning outcomes, assessment criteria, and pass marks, reviewed annually or sooner if industry or legislative changes require it.
• Partner quality assurance — every Approved Training Partner undergoes an annual quality review covering training delivery, trainer qualifications, learner records, and assessment integrity.
• Trainer standards — trainers delivering OSHEM qualifications must meet minimum qualification and experience criteria set out in the partner agreement before they can deliver assessed content.
• Certificate integrity — certificates can only be issued through the Partner Portal, are logged in the OSHEM registry the moment they're issued, and are permanently verifiable. Certificates are never issued outside this system, which is what closes off the forgery risk that exists with paper-only certification.

The full policies below set out the detail behind each of these commitments.

Appeals & complaints procedure

Anyone with a concern about an assessment decision, a partner's conduct, or OSHEM's own service can raise it. There's no cost to raise a complaint or appeal, and doing so has no bearing on any current or future assessment.

1. Raise it with your training partner first, where possible. Most concerns — re-marking requests, a query about a result, an issue during a course — are resolved fastest at partner level, since they hold your learner record. Every Approved Training Partner has an internal complaints process as a condition of their agreement with OSHEM.
2. Escalate to OSHEM if unresolved, or if the complaint is about the partner itself. Email appeals@oshem.co.uk with your name, certificate or enrolment number (if applicable), the partner institute involved, and a description of the issue. We acknowledge every formal appeal or complaint within 5 working days.
3. Investigation. OSHEM reviews the assessment record, partner records, and any supporting evidence. For assessment appeals, this may include independent re-marking by a second assessor. We aim to conclude straightforward cases within 20 working days of acknowledgement; complex cases are kept updated at least every 10 working days.
4. Outcome and further escalation. You'll receive a written outcome explaining the decision and the reasoning behind it. If a partner is found to have breached the partner agreement, action ranges from a formal warning to suspension or termination of their Approved Training Partner status, depending on severity. If you remain unsatisfied with how OSHEM has handled a complaint (as opposed to the original assessment decision), you can request a final review by a director not previously involved in the case.

Malpractice & maladministration policy

Malpractice is any deliberate act by a learner, trainer, or partner institute that compromises the integrity of an assessment or certificate — for example, plagiarism, impersonation in an assessment, fabricating assessment records, or issuing a certificate without a genuine assessment having taken place. Maladministration is a failure to follow OSHEM's required processes — even without dishonest intent — such as not keeping required learner records, or delivering a syllabus that doesn't match the published specification.

Report suspected malpractice or maladministration to integrity@oshem.co.uk. Reports can be made anonymously, though providing contact details helps us investigate thoroughly. We take every report seriously and will not disclose a reporter's identity to the party they've reported without consent.

Where malpractice or maladministration is confirmed, OSHEM will take proportionate action, which may include: voiding the affected certificate(s) and removing them from the public verification register; requiring re-assessment; a formal warning to the partner institute; suspension of the partner's right to issue new certificates while an investigation is ongoing; or termination of the partner agreement for serious or repeated breaches. Learners and employers affected by a voided certificate are notified directly.

Independence & conflicts of interest

OSHEM does not deliver training itself, and no OSHEM director or employee holds a financial interest in any Approved Training Partner. Partner institutes pay OSHEM a per-certificate issuance fee — OSHEM has no financial stake in how many learners a partner enrols or fails, which removes the incentive to inflate pass rates that exists in some parts of the training industry.