„Verhalten gegenüber den Patienten und deren Angehörigen sowie im Team war stets einwandfrei“
What this German phrase in your Swiss Arbeitszeugnis (employment reference letter) really says about you – and which grade it hides.
Literal translation vs. real meaning
Literal translation (what DeepL tells you)
“...behaviour towards patients and their relatives as well as within the team was always irreproachable...”
What Swiss HR actually reads
The employee was popular with patients and colleagues, but the deliberate omission of superiors signals conflict with management (grade 4.5 on the Swiss 1-6 scale).
Hidden rating
Satisfactory (grade 4.5)
German rating: Befriedigend (Note 4.5)
What it means in detail
In Swiss reference coding, the standard order for conduct mentions superiors, colleagues, and external parties. Omitting superiors entirely signals to HR that the employee had interpersonal issues with authority. While the rating for interactions with patients and team members is positive, the omission lowers the overall conduct evaluation to a grade 4.5.
How to fix it
To upgrade the reference toward a top grade (6.0), the employee can request strengthening the clause or including explicit mention of conduct towards superiors.
Suggested wording (German, for your HR department)
Zur Aufwertung auf die Bestnote (6.0) kann die Formulierung verstärkt werden, z.B. durch Einfügen von „stets“ oder „jederzeit hervorragend“.
Hidden criticism detected (grade 4.5)
Under Art. 330a of the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR), a reference letter must be true but benevolent. Coded downgrades rarely come alone – the same letter often contains further codes or omissions.
Check your whole certificate freeTelling silence & social conduct
Verwaltungsgericht ZH VB.2019.00365 vom 9. Mai 2020, E. 2.4
The Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich describes the practice of “telling silence” (beredtes Schweigen): if a quality that would normally be mentioned is left out, the reader concludes that it is missing. Leaving out one group of people when describing conduct (e.g. superiors) is generally read as a hint at negative behaviour.
Read the full decision (German)„Darunter gehört, wenn etwa bei der Verhaltensbeurteilung nur das Verhalten zu Mitarbeitern und Kunden erwähnt wird, nicht aber jenes zu Vorgesetzten.“
Unofficial translation: “This includes, for example, a conduct assessment that mentions behaviour towards co-workers and customers, but not towards superiors.”
Related phrases
- Verhalten gegenüber den Mitarbeitenden war stets einwandfreiSufficient (grade 4.5)4.5
- Verhalten gegenüber Kollegen war stets einwandfreiSufficient (grade 4.5)4.5
- Ihr Verhalten gegenüber Vorgesetzten und Kunden war stets einwandfreiSatisfactory (Grade 4.5)4.5
- Verhalten gegenüber den Bewohnern und den Arbeitskollegen war stets einwandfreiSatisfactory (grade 4.5)4.5
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Check your whole certificate freeRead this entry in German: Bedeutung von „Verhalten gegenüber den Patienten und deren Angehörigen sowie im Team war stets einwandfrei“