External confidential counselling office

General information

Under Article 328 of the Swiss Code of Obligations and Article 6 of the Labour Act, employers are required to protect their employees’ mental as well as physical health. This can be difficult for smaller companies to put into practice, because confidentiality is essential in this area.

That is why Swico’s industry solution, in collaboration with AEH, offers an external confidential counselling office for psychosocial risks. This professional point of contact provides affected employees with advice from a neutral and independent position on matters of personal integrity and psychological strain.

When to seek help:

Suspected bullying or sexual harassment, discrimination, violence, conflicts with managers, psychological stress or burnout.

Advice from the external confidential counselling office: process

• The employee contacts AEH on its service number (0840 number charged at the local rate).
• An appointment is arranged for a consultation in Zurich or Bern.
• Consultation meeting
• Understanding the situation
• Discussing possible solutions
• Explaining further support options
• Agreeing on next steps

Other possible steps include:

• Ending the consultation without further steps
• The confidential counselling office contacts the company (manager or HR), with the affected person’s consent
• The person concerned seeks a formal procedure within the company
• The person concerned pursues legal proceedings
• Brief coaching by AEH (in consultation with the company; additional costs apply)
• Case management (in consultation with the company; additional costs apply)
• Referral for specialist medical care