Our points of contact

Our aim is for people to address disrespectful behaviour early on in order to stop it quickly and effectively. We have created several points of contact for this purpose, including ones that are very easily accessible. The graphic and accompanying text list the existing points of contact and illustrate what happens depending which one you turn to.

Your line manager has a duty of care towards you and is the first point of contact in the case of disrespectful behaviour or conflicts. They will listen to your concerns and advise and support you in finding a solution. If no solution can be found in this manner, a ‘formal procedure’ can be initiated with your consent. Your line manager is entitled to act on their own authority if they judge the situation to be serious.

• If you and your line manager find a satisfactory solution together, the consulting situation ends here. If you do not find a satisfactory solution, you can turn to Human Resources or to a confidential advisor.

The Human Resources are available to advise you as points of contact. They can assist and support you in conflict situations. If no solution can be found in this manner, a ‘formal procedure’ can be initiated with your consent. Human Resources is entitled to act on its own authority if it judges the situation to be serious.

• If you find a satisfactory solution with the support of Human Resources, the consulting situation ends here.

If you would like to consult with a neutral contact person, there are a range of internal and external confidential advisors available as part of the "confidential procedure". These contact persons offer you advice and support on all subjects related to conflicts and disrespectful behaviour. In this context, confidentiality is ensured. A confidential advisor will only take measures if you have given your consent, unless the situation involves endangerment of self or others.

• You decide independently on when to end the consulting situation.

In the "formal procedure" you, as the affected or accused person, have the option of lodging a complaint which may result in punitive measures. This procedure involves Human Resources, your direct line manager and the next higher line manager. In this process, maintaining confidentiality is only possible to a limited extent. The complaint is processed by Human Resources. In this context, Human Resources must hear the statements of all parties involved in the conflict in order to fulfil its duty of care.

• This procedure ends either after the situation has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of all persons involved or after the initiated measures have been implemented.