Employment & Workplace Disputes
I have represented both employers and employees in Employment Tribunals. The outcome is often unsatisfactory and the cost significant. Not just legal costs but the waste of management time and, of course, the emotional cost.
Workplace Mediation
This refers to problems in the workplace caused by breakdowns in relationships between staff members -including managers or business owners. Such issues can be very damaging to the business and mediation can be a good way of resolving them. The ability to talk about things with complete confidentiality is one of the main benefits.
“The beauty of mediation is that this is a process that can be introduced at any stage of a conflict. Even after a formal procedure has been completed, or an employment tribunal claim has concluded, for example, mediation can be used to help repair relationships and encourage teamwork.”
Extract From “Mediation - An employer’s guide”. You can download a copy of the guide from the ACAS website here.
I have successfully mediated disputes relating to unfair/wrongful dismissal and disputes within the workplace arising from difficulties between employees. I have also presented workplace mediation training to groups of HR Managers, e.g. in the NHS.