What is an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)?
An EAP is a management tool used by employers to control and reduce work-place stress, control absenteeism and reduce an organisation's exposure to the risk of stress-related litigation. An EAP is designed to help your employees cope with problems affecting them, irrespective of whether the root cause may be work-related or personal.
Through WSM's Employee Assistance Helpline services, employees can access confidential counselling advice and information on a wide range of issues linked to work or personal matters - concerns that they might prefer not to voice with managers, colleagues or their family. The confidentiality of WSM's EAPs can go a long way to helping put minds at rest.
Calls to the 0800 free-phone helpline are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by WSM's team of trained call centre advisors. As required, they will refer callers to our specialists such as health care experts, lawyers or financial debt counselling consultants. Employees are called back by our counsellors at a time convenient to them, and are either given confidential counselling or information over the telephone, or they are carefully assessed for onward referral for face-to-face counselling.
Contact with a face-to-face counsellor can usually be within 24 hours. The number of required sessions normally varies between one and eight sessions, based on the needs of the employee and your contract with WSM.
WSM counsellors understand how difficult it is for employees to admit to problems and make the calls. They are trained to help callers feel more comfortable in sharing their problems and looking for resolution. |
