The new employment legislation, being enacted on April 6th introduces new, less formal processes which will be supported by a new statutory ACAS code of practice. This gives an outline of ‘fair' and ‘reasonable' standards in dealing with workplace disputes, which tribunals will be able to take into account and revise awards upwards, or downwards, if employers or employees have not followed it.
The sea change for mediation - and some would argue common sense - comes in the introduction to the Code.
"Employers and employees should always seek to resolve disciplinary and grievance issues in the workplace. Where this is not possible employers and employees should consider using an independent third party to help resolve the problem. The third party need not be from outside the organization but could be an internal mediator, so long as they are not involved in the disciplinary or grievance issue. In some cases an external mediator might be appropriate."
This suggests that the earlier disagreements can be managed, the less likely they are to evolve into destructive conflict, a view shared by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in their Employers Guide to Mediation :
"Mediation is especially effective when used at the initial phase of any disagreement, before conflict escalates. An early intervention can prevent both sides from becoming entrenched and the difference turning into a full-blown dispute. If the disagreement is resolved early on, there is less chance of the working relationship breaking down irrevocably. This improves the likelihood of maintaining good and productive employment relations in the longer term".
The Practicalities
However much we agree that internal mediation is a good idea, there are practicalities in setting it up. So from our experience of doing this, we offer some thoughts in a document, In House Teams , on how you might proceed. We may also be able to help from our own experience with the inhouse paper you may need to gather support from within the organisation.
If you would like to do so in partnership, please let me know - we would be delighted to work with you.