Mediation
Competence
FINSOM is a public utility mediation office (or “mediation body”) that mainly deals with complaints of clients (natural or legal persons) or employees who are dissatisfied with a company or an employer operating in the Swiss financial sector. FINSOM can also handle complaints from a company or an employer regarding a client or an employee.
As a mediation body, FINSOM provides clients, employees, companies and employers with general information on complaint management and conflict or dispute resolution in the Swiss financial sector. If the below conditions for access to mediation are met, FINSOM can also conduct mediations at the unilateral or joint request of the parties.
Please note: FINSOM is not a supervisory, police, judicial or administrative authority and does not provide financial, legal or other advice, conduct investigations, represent parties in litigation, issue judgments or sanctions. The information provided by FINSOM must not be interpreted or used as such. Furthermore, exchanges with FINSOM are confidential and may not be shared with other persons, including an opposing party and the authorities.
Access conditions
A complaint or request for mediation may be submitted by a client (private, professional or institutional, natural or legal person) or employee and/or by an affiliated company or employer.
- The complaint or request must be submitted in accordance with FINSOM’s instructions.
- The conflict or dispute must concern a company or employer affiliated to FINSOM’s Commercial Mediation/FinSA or Workplace Mediation/EmpA.
- The requesting party must demonstrate that they have informed the other party of their point of view and attempted to reach an agreement with them, or have good reason for not having done so.
- The complaint or request cannot be obviously vexatious.
- Mediation doesn’t appear devoid of any chance of success from the outset.
- If no conciliation authority, court, court of arbitration or administrative authority is or has been seized of the case, and if mediation has not already been conducted in the same case, the request can be unilateral. Otherwise, the request must be made jointly and any legal or arbitration proceedings must be suspended during the mediation.
If the above conditions are not met, the complaint or request for mediation will be refused.
Preliminary review
Mediation procedure
The mediation procedure must be fair, quick, objective, impartial and unbureaucratic. Exchanges with FINSOM are confidential and may not be shared with other persons, including an opposing party and the authorities (confidentiality). The appointed mediator attempts to conciliate the parties and can perform an independent material and/or legal assessment of the case, but does not issue a decision or propose a judgment. The outcome of the procedure depends on the willingness of the parties. FINSOM’s rules of procedure apply.