A working party of lawyers, employers and professional mediators is to draw
up a model mediation scheme for use by employers in workplace disputes.
Set up by the Employment Lawyers Association, it will consider the types of
claim best suited to mediation and decide when the option should be made
available.
"Currently, the majority of cases brought in tribunals are the result
of relationships having irreparably broken down," said Julie Quin, chair
of the working party and senior associate at Allen & Overy.
"[Mediation] will give both parties an opportunity to resolve their
disputes more quickly in a private and less adversarial forum."
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Representing employers is Simon Clark, director of UBS Warburg. "This
… may well herald a significant change in responsible employers’ attitudes to
dealing with employment disputes," he said.
Professional mediator Nicholas Dewar said his work had had a dramatic impact
on handling workplace disputes in the US. "It allows even highly personal
matters to be handled in confidence and in a way that can provide more
satisfaction to the parties and reduce the stress and stigma that normally
accompany these cases."
