Employment Mediation

There is a significant cost to employers when good staff leave through failure to successfully resolve disputes.

Understanding Employment Mediation

In this delicate area of human resource management, staff may leave because they consider that their grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved, or because they believe that “nothing will be done”.

Mediation is an effective way to resolve disputes between employers and employees, or between employees in a confidential, structured and professional manner that allows both parties to reach an agreed conclusion quickly and calmly.

Mediation can provide a robust and effective means of defusing difficult situations and avoiding Employment Tribunals. In comparison to the cost associated with employment tribunals, mediation can save substantial amounts of money in terms of lawyers fees, potential payouts and, in worst case scenarios, the cost of using a PR company in case of damage to brand reputation.

In addition to dealing with an immediate situation or dispute, the mediation process can also result in a plan for preventing any future disputes between the parties, fixing the underlying issues.

If the relationship is beyond repair, benefits can be obtained which cannot be ordered by tribunals: agreed references, effective restrictive covenants and confidentiality. Mediators can also bring ‘a breath of fresh air’ to businesses, where certain practices or behaviours have become engrained and are making it difficult to work around a problem.

What’s more, employers who use mediation are in a stronger position with their employees both to identify unreasonable practices and to provide a non-contentious means of resolving disputes. Having an in-house mediator needn’t mean your company is prone to disputes and disagreements, instead the presence of a mediator is a good indicator of a company that cares.

To discuss the benefits of mediation, or how effective mediation techniques could be adopted by your business, contact us today.