General Terms
and Conditions

“Employees”:         

All persons that are in an employment relationship with your company and have an employment contract that has not been terminated for longer than 3 months.

“Immediate family members”:

Immediate family members are people who live in the same household with the employee (e.g. spouses, partners, siblings, parents, etc.).

“Services”:

Services are all of the services provided by Lyra for your company.

Lyra is obliged to provide the following services for your company:

2.1. Advice services for employees and their immediate family members:

2.1.1. Telephone services
2.1.2. Face-to-Face Counseling
2.1.3. Introduction
2.1.4. Management Feedback

2.1.1. Telephone services

The Employee Assistance Program EAP from Lyra is available to all employees and their immediate family members. It offers direct, unlimited and confidential access free of charge to telephone advice on emotional topics, around the clock, as well as practical life skills and legal questions, which are researched and answered during office hours. The calls are taken by professional and experienced advisors who carefully clarify the needs of the caller in order to provide the necessary support to the caller.

The Lyra Support Center can be reached 365 days a year, around the clock. Calls are answered in English, German and French on the respective Luxembourgish 8000 service numbers (toll-free numbers*).

Advice calls on mental health topics can be conducted directly with the psychologist who takes the call. Questions about practical life skills and legal questions will be forwarded to our qualified lawyers. Often, counseling discussions arise from simple requests for information.

*Attention: Some mobile phone providers in Luxembourg may charge network usage fees for 8000 numbers. With some providers, it is possible that depending upon the subscription contract, no 8000 numbers can be called. Lyra has no influence over these providers or their subscription contracts. In these cases, Lyra can be reached around the clock on the international number. In order to keep the cost down for the caller, Lyra is happy to call back.

Telephone advising for emotional/mental issues

• If a personal counselling session is desired, this can be conducted directly with the psychologist who takes the call. Thus, there is no delay for the caller. In this way, it is also assured that an employee who is currently in a crisis or needs courage to call need not be transferred before a specialist hears his issue.
• All calls are taken by psychologists with university degrees and life experience. These also have additional knowledge in various topic areas, such as, e.g. handling grief, debt questions, anxieties, stress, performance problems, harassment, burnout, bullying, family and relationship conflicts, divorce or lack of self-confidence/feeling of self-worth. They help the employees to analyze their issues and develop concrete solutions.
• There are professional and proven procedural protocols in order to guarantee the supervision and active handling of risk situations. Depending on the starting point and the gravity of the case, appropriate readiness systems and measures will be initiated.
• The telephone advisors can also offer the callers face-to-face counselling sessions with a state-recognized psychotherapist, if this is indicated.

Practical life skills and legal issues / Life Management

• The Lyra advisors are lawyers and attorneys that are also versed in obtaining information.
• According to the experience of Lyra, specialized and useful information for the employees that must deal with multi-faceted work-related and personal questions is of inestimable value. Financial problems, legal problems, consumer issues, concerns such as moving, looking for housing, restructuring or personal events such as a death or loss of a job are undoubtedly taken into the workplace and impair the worker’s performance ability and productivity.
• These expert advisors from Lyra are also trained in psychology. They are attentive, empathetic and impartial listeners. They know that behind a factual question there is often a hidden emotional need that the employee would like to address. The free discussion and expression of feelings such as frustration, anger, excitement, pain or loss allows the affected person to become calmer internally and to seek solutions constructively.
• Lyra has data banks, brochures and reference works and can reach out to technical specialists in the fields of law, finance, insurance and medical issues.
• Information can be obtained on the following topics, among others:

Support for managers / HR / Staff association (Managerial Consultancy)

The Employee Assistance Plan EAP also serves the supervisors and human resources staff as a sparring partner in complicated management situations, organizational changes, conflicts or in the handling of difficult events such as sexual harassment, bullying, violence, serious accidents, crises, disaster.

Although the employee as a rule turns to Lyra on his own initiative, it is possible that supervisors, HR managers or team leaders refer an employee to Lyra – as an effective and well-meaning measure to reinstate the performance ability of an employee.

There are three different types of referral:

• Self-referral – the most common.
• Informal referral by a supervisor or HR – these encourage employees to use the Lyra Wellbeing EAP, but the performance of the employee, however, is not in question.
• Formal referral – Supervisors recommend the Lyra Wellbeing EAP in cases where work performance is affected.

The decision to make contact with Lyra ultimately remains with the employee, however. The decision is always voluntary. In a formal referral, where performance is the problem, the party making the referral only receives as feedback the information whether the employee has contacted Lyra or not.

2.1.2. Personal counseling sessions (Face-to-face Counseling)

In case of more complex emotional problems, the callers have the possibility to arrange for personal counseling sessions in the form of a clarifying, solution seeking, crisis counseling and/or short-term therapy (up to a maximum of 8 sessions). These take place with licensed psychotherapists nearby the workplace. If desired, these sessions can also be conducted on the telephone.

Qualifications of the Lyra Advisor Network

• Lyra has its own multilingual network of psychologists in Luxembourg. The criteria for selecting consultants are demanding. Lyra works exclusively with licensed psychologists, who have completed a theoretical and practical psychotherapeutic training according to the international PSL guidelines, are members of a professional association for psychology/ psychotherapy recognized in Luxembourg and have several years of professional experience.
• The Lyra advisors have experience in different disciplines and can provide help with issues in areas such as relationships, alcohol or drug addiction, grief, debts or trauma.
• All advisors must organize their own supervision pursuant to the requirements of the professional associations and must have liability insurance. They work in their own practice rooms, which are inspected by Lyra before they are accepted into the network.

2.1.3. Introduction

It is the experience of Lyra that the introduction and the communication to the employees are among the most important elements of the Employee Assistance Program EAP. They determine the extent of acceptance and enthusiasm of the employees about the service.
Based on many years of experience, Lyra recommends that the introduction be undertaken with the following measures:

• Sending of an informational letter/e-mail to the employees (template can be made available by Lyra).
• Hanging Lyra Wellbeing EAP posters in breakrooms, dressing rooms or on bulletin boards – the posters with changing themes are sent 5x per year to the person responsible for EAP in your business.
• Posting of the EAP introductory film on your intranet page – the film is available in English and German and will be made available to you at no charge.
• Introductory presentation by Lyra via webinar for the employees (the presentation, including the question and answer period usually lasts about 30 minutes). The introductory presentation is not included in the EAP Pure online service package, but it can be purchased separately.
• Distribution of four-color information brochures to all employees. Printed EAP flyers are not included in the EAP Pure service package (only digital flyers), but they can be purchased separately for the EAP Pure All service.

Lyra will add the contact person on the customer side to the distribution list of the Manager Newsletter. We recommend that the Manager Newsletter is then forwarded internally by the contact person to the managers so that they can register themselves on their own.

2.1.4. Usage statistics and reports

Lyra provides your company annually after each contract period with the following information in Excel format:

• The number of employees and immediate family members that have contacted Lyra
• The nature of the services used
• The topics of the enquiries, divided into private and work-related topics

Lyra provides its services to its best knowledge and belief a representative of your company and in so doing applies the necessary care. Lyra thereby safeguards the legitimate interests of your company in good faith.

4.1. Your company is obliged to provide compensation pursuant to No. 5 below.

4.2. Your company is further obliged to make available to Lyra all of the information and documents that are necessary for Lyra to fulfill its contractual duties.

For the consulting services to be provided by Lyra to the employees and their immediate family members in accordance with section 2.1., your company pays an annual amount that depends on the number of employees and the selected product (EAP Pure All or EAP Pure Budget).

6.1. The payment for the Employee Assistance Services by your company pursuant to No. 2.1. is made directly in the online shop via Paypal or, if the payment method chosen is “advance payment”, within ten days of receipt of invoice. The contract commences on the 1st of the month following receipt of payment.

6.2. If invoices have to be mandatorily placed in tools such as Ariba, Coupa, Tradeshift, etc., the resulting costs (usage fee) and effort will be invoiced separately and additionally.

6.3. Any change in the number of employees shall be communicated to Lyra by your company one month before the end of the annual invoicing period.

7.1. Lyra provides its services with the reservation that all contacts by the employees and immediate family members with Lyra are completely confidential and are to be handled in accordance with professional ethics and rules. Information that could identify a specific individual will only be provided to your company or a third party with the prior express written consent of the person or in a situation of acute danger for your company with regard to its workforce. If there is a situation of acute danger, Lyra is obliged to provide only the information that is absolutely necessary. The decision whether information that is absolutely necessary will be provided shall be made by Lyra upon the recommendation of a “Senior Clinician” pursuant to clear clinical procedural rules that have been communicated to the affected person in advance.

7.2. Both parties are mutually obliged, both during and after the end of the contract, to maintain confidentiality about all business secrets, confidential information and data that they have perceived during the duration of the contract.

8.1. Lyra is obliged at its own expense to obtain liability insurance coverage in the amount of € 8.300.000 to cover any damages that Lyra could cause your company in exercising its duties under this contract..

9.1. Lyra is liable for the trustworthy and careful exercise of the services assigned to it. Lyra expressly refuses, however, to make any guarantee of the success of a service with regard to workforce turnover, illness and absences, productivity and other organizational issues.

9.2. Lyra is liable for damages that are incurred to your company in the course of providing the services. Indirect damages and consequential damages are excluded.

10.1. Copyright and other intangible property rights as well as all know-how in connection with the design or materials from Lyra are owned by Lyra.

10.2. Your company is exclusively limited to the internal use of the trademark “Lyra” or other materials from Lyra. Your company is obliged to protect the trademark rights of Lyra and to obtain prior written consent before public usage of the trademark “Lyra”. Use of the trademark or also just the name of your company as a reference for other marketing purposes is only allowed for Lyra if the use is approved in advance by your company.

This duty exists both during the contractual term as well as after the contract ends.

13.1. The contract comes into force on the 1st of the month following the receipt of payment. It is entered into for an indeterminate term, the invoice is issued annually. The contract can be terminated at the end of a contract year by giving 6 months’ notice.

If the contract is not continued, your company is obliged to inform its employees about the end of the service and to require them not to make any more calls.

If employees or immediate family members call anyway, the support calls will be refused by Lyra. After the end of the contract, Lyra will do no more advising. If there are repeated calls by employees or immediate family members after the end of the contract, Lyra reserves the right to invoice for its expenses (time, telephone tolls).

13.2. Each party is entitled to immediate written termination of the contract if:

13.2.1. One of the parties is responsible for a material breach of the contract, and the breach is not cured within 30 days after receipt of a written demand from the other party that the contractual breach be cured.

13.2.2. A party files for bankruptcy or is liquidated.

13.2.3. Continuance of the contractual relationship has become objectively unreasonable.

13.3. If the contract is ended, Lyra shall finish all advice sessions with an employee that were started before termination of the contract, including the necessary number of face to face counseling sessions.

Rights under this contract may be assigned to a third party only with the prior written consent of the other contracting party. Lyra has the right, however, to bring in subcontractors in order to fulfill its contractual services. The liability of Lyra for those subcontractors shall be the same as its liability for Lyra itself.