WORKPLACE MEDIATION

A guide to workplace mediation from the employment law experts

Marjon Law, specialist employment lawyers is owner-led by Marc Jones, who is ranked and recommended in legal publications as a leading employment law solicitor, with over 20 years of experience practising solely in employment law.

Marc is also a qualified workplace mediator.

If you would like details on workplace mediation, please contact us.

What is workplace mediation and dispute resolution?

Workplace disputes, either regularly, or from time to time, can seldom be avoided no matter what policies and procedures an employer has in place.

Disputes can be between employees, whether caused by alleged bullying, harassment or personality clashes or between an employer and an employee, where the employee's performance or conduct may be an issue, or the employee may feel undervalued and raise a grievance.

Recent Acas research underlined the financial cost of workplace conflict estimated to be in the region of £28.5 billion every year – an average of over £1,000 for every employee. This covers formal and informal workplace conflicts, such as dealing with disciplinary and grievance issues, as well as cases resulting in litigation in the employment tribunal.

According to research carried out by the CIPD, an average of 1.8 hours lost per week per employee on workplace conflict; an annual loss of 370 million days. This is an obvious drain on management and human resources time. A significant amount of those costs occur when a dispute becomes legal in dealing with employment tribunal claims.

An alternative to dealing with grievances and disciplinary issues is workplace mediation. This cannot be confused with mediation.

Workplace mediation involves psychology and unless you are a qualified workplace mediator, the exercise may be doomed to failure and polarise the parties' positions rather than resulting in a workable compromise.

Workplace mediation is used where the intention is to fix working relations rather than discipline or dismiss.

What are the benefits of workplace mediation?

Mediation is especially effective at the initial stage of a disagreement before conflict escalates and both parties become entrenched. The benefits are:

data suggests a full or partial resolution in about 80% of cases
saving time, money and stress for employees and the employer
better chance of an issue at work being resolved rather than determined with one party happy and the other remaining bitterly unhappy
increases the chances of retaining good employees
improved relationships and morale with and between employees
reduces employment tribunal claims, which are expensive and could also involve bad publicity
reduced problems of stress-induced sickness
offers an objective overview and insight into dynamics and culture, which may lead to lessons being learnt by an employer, thereby improving morale and performance going forward.

What types of workplace conflict resolution are suitable for workplace mediation?

The types of situations suitable for workplace mediation are:

issues between employees or within teams
conflicts between senior managers and other leaders and decision-makers
allegations of bullying and harassment
issues with employees that are subject to performance improvement plans
reintegrating employees who have been absent due to sickness
issues relating to possible disability and what, if any, reasonable adjustments need to be made as a consequence
changes in terms and conditions
flexible working
collective disputes.

What are the key points relating to workplace mediation?

The key points are:

workplace mediation is very flexible
the process is not binding unless an agreement is reached and recorded in a workplace mediation agreement
a workplace mediation agreement can remain confidential between the parties, which could mean that the employer will know that an agreement has been reached but not the terms
workplace mediators avoid taking sides, making judgments, determining outcomes or giving guidance. They are simply responsible for developing effective communications and building consensus between the parties – they ask questions that help to assist the parties to understand the issues and clarify the options for resolving conflict.

The material contained in this web page is provided for general purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Appropriate legal advice should be sought for specific circumstances and before action is taken.