Changing the way that disputes are resolved? Cutting-edge seminars on managing individual conflict announced by iROWE

For the first time in the UK, leading academics, practitioners and policy makers will be brought to together in a series of seminars to discuss workplace dispute resolution and individual workplace conflict.

Recent years have seen mounting concern over the increased costs of conflict and rising numbers of employment tribunal applications. The seminar series, 'Reframing Resolution - Managing Individual Workplace Conflict', is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and will feature cutting-edge research and comment into the causes of individual employment disputes and the way in which they are resolved. In particular it will provide key insights into a range of issues, including workplace mediation and innovative conflict management.

The series is sponsored by Acas, CMP Resolutions, Consensio Partners and the TCM Group and starts on 11th October 2012, with 'Understanding Individual Employment Disputes' at the University of Strathclyde. This will be followed by five further seminars which will explore : employee voice and representation; workplace mediation; conflict management; legal regulation; and will culminate with a conference at the University of Westminster on 5th September 2013 which will consider the key lessons from the series for policy and practice.

The organiser of the series, Dr Richard Saundry from the Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (iROWE) said: 'HR practitioners are well aware of the difficulties that they face in dealing with conflict on a daily basis. This series will provide an opportunity to hear the latest research in this area and also to share knowledge and experience to find ways of managing these difficult issues more effectively'.

The series in full is:

11th October 2012 - 'Understanding Individual Employment Disputes' - University of Strathclyde.

12th September 2012 - 'Resolving workplace disputes - employee voice, engagement and representation', University of Central Lancashire.

14th February 2013 - 'Mediation and alternative dispute resolution-outcomes and impacts', Swansea University.

18th April 2013 - 'The management of workplace conflict - structures, systems and strategies', Queen's University Belfast.

June 2013 (date tbc) - 'The changing face of legal regulation - rights, resolution and efficiency', University of Warwick.

5th September 2013 - 'Managing conflict and resolving disputes-synthesising research, practice and policy', University of Westminster.

For more information please go to: www.uclan.ac.uk/workplaceconflictseminars