Why aren’t all funeral directors inspected?

At this time there are no statutory requirements for a funeral director to be inspected for quality or standards of service. This is an entirely voluntary process by the funeral service providers and there are varying levels of industry-designed code they can choose to adopt. 

Among the general public, though, there is a general belief that funeral directors are regulated in some way but in fact the process of regulation is still at a relatively early stage in the UK.

This may be confusing to the consumer as there is not a great deal of clarity on what standards apply to funeral directors.

Funeral directors may choose to meet voluntary requirements by joining a trade association. Currently in the United Kingdom, SAIF is the only trade association that requires members to meet the highest level of standards through an ISO9001-certified inspection programme.

Outside of trade association membership, funeral directors can provide whatever level of care they deem to be appropriate. This creates a risk of the care provided falling far short of even the lowest voluntary code of practice. 

In March 2022, SAIF members voted to change our Code of Practice to increase the standards required of a funeral director business. Furthermore, we also successfully achieved ISO9001 certification for our Quality Assurance programme. 

This is a significant step towards a regulated profession, delivered by none other than independent family owned members of the profession itself. 

“This was a clear signal from the Society and its membership that any future regulation of funeral directors needs to set a high standard to ensure that in combination with the Competition and Markets Authority Order addressing pricing and transparency of ownership, funeral service providers who continue to fail the families they serve should not be allowed to practise. The SAIF Standard is the highest benchmark for funeral directors in the United Kingdom. Every single member is subject to independent inspection without exception.” Terry Tennens, SAIF Chief Executive.

Whilst the quality of funeral service providers can vary greatly, choosing a funeral director is made a much easier task by ensuring that they are members of SAIF. It is your guarantee that their business has been fully inspected and complies with the strictest code of practice.

Stay funeral safe with SAIF.