This morning the Government announced radical proposals aimed at making it easier for employers to dismiss employees without exposing themselves to tribunal claims. For their part, most employers welcomed the changes as being a small step to redressing the balance in what is perceived to be an increasingly employee-centric system. They will have greater freedom to sack underperforming staff within their first two years – increased from the present 12 months.

With the name of the game being to avoid damaging (both in terms of hard cash and reputation) employment tribunals, mediation is coming to the fore as an important Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) tool within the workplace. Indeed, David Cameron plans to make mediation a compulsory step on the road to the tribunal courts, as well as deterring vexatious claimants by levying a fee in order to bring a claim.

Happily, P4 Performance’s first HR Forum last night focused on how mediation should form an important part of every manager’s toolkit. Talk Mediation – a leading provider defined mediation as “a confidential and voluntary process by which a neutral and independent third party helps those in conflict reach an acceptable resolution to their dispute. Because the parties are responsible for providing solutions and mutually agreeing the way forward, they take real ownership of, and buy into the solutions”.

Impressive claims are made for its success rate, with some providers stating that of all disputes that go to mediation, 85% are settled on the day and 92% within seven days, without recourse to litigation. With the average employment tribunal costing £20,000 and 13 days of management and HR time to defend, that represents startling value for money. If any further incentive were needed, Employment Tribunals have the power to reduce or increase any award made to an employee by 25% if either side has refused to try mediation before resorting to tribunal.

In practical terms, mediation also can help resolve disputes that are not ultimately destined for the tribunal courts but nevertheless significantly impact on productivity, morale, staff retention and the general ethos and reputation of the company.

Steps for you to consider:

• Review your procedures to include mediation as an integral part of grievance resolution
• Include clauses in employment contracts stating that mediation will be used as part of any dispute resolution process
• Train line managers, HR managers and staff representatives in basic mediation skills

With thanks to Suzanne Lowe of Talk Mediation and Tim Jones of Higgs and Sons for their shared expertise.

If you would like more information on mediation, please contact us today.