Last year, some 200,000 cases went through the UK Employment Tribunal system, with claims for unfair dismissal and breach of contract featuring highly. In addition to this, the world of work is quickly changing beyond all recognition. Some of the trends we are witnessing include:

• Lower levels of employee loyalty
• A lack of trust in management
• Poor leadership
• The rise of the borderless workforce
• Increasing levels of immigration

These factors and more are contributing to the increasing requirement for stakeholders to have access to a tool to help solve workplace and employment related disputes when they arise. In other words, now is a good time to train as a workplace mediator.

There is, though, some clarity needed amongst mediation practitioners to clarify just exactly what workplace and employment mediation is, how it might differ to civil and commercial mediation and what key skills are required.

First, although the terms 'workplace' and 'employment mediation' are used interchangeably, there is a distinct difference between the two. Workplace mediation refers to a mediation when there is an ongoing working relationship between the parties at the point when the mediation commences.

Employment mediation is when one or more of the parties have already left the organisation and there is, for example, an Employment Tribunal pending. However, it is quite possible for a case to start out as a workplace mediation and end up as an employment mediation.

There are three technical differences in the process. One is the difference of the commissioner. Workplace mediations are normally commissioned by someone from the HR Function. Employment mediation cases are usually commissioned by an employment lawyer.

Second, the price is different. Employment mediation fees are usually in line with commercial mediation rates. In addition to this any pre-work can normally be charged for. Some HR Professionals are unwilling to pay for this.

Third is the skill set of the mediator. Workplace mediations are focussed heavily on rebuilding a working relationship where parties are expected to work side by side the following day. In order to achieve this there are normally a high number of joint meetings and the mediator may stay silent for long periods of time while the parties talk things through between themselves. The mediator may also switch frequently between mediation and facilitation. Employment mediations can be more about private sessions of negotiating a financial settlement that is acceptable to both parties, in a similar way to a civil or commercial mediation.

I remember being assisted during a workplace mediation by a civil/commercial mediator. The dispute was between two women who worked for a financial services company in the private sector. The opening session lasted for around one and a half hours with me as mediator rarely interjecting as the parties realised for themselves where the misunderstanding that led to their dispute had stemmed from.

Much of the rest of the session continued in the same vein. The mediation settled and we spent around two hours at the end drafting an agreement on the basis for their ongoing working relationship. In the post mediation discussion with my assistant, he said that he hadn't realised just how different the dynamics would be in a workplace mediation case.

Organisations today are welcoming almost any process that has been proven to save time and money. In other words, any process with a clear business case. Mediation in the workplace has this edge. Research indicates that some line managers spend more than one day per week dealing with conflict issues.

Adding workplace and employment mediation to one's portfolio would therefore be a sensible thing to do, not withstanding the observations I made earlier. The market is growing and workplace mediation cases can often lead to organisations requesting further 'add-on' services.

If you are interested in taking this new step in your career, CIArb's 6-day Module 1 workplace mediation course (London, 23-30 November) will equip you with all the skills required to effectively mediate both workplace and employment disputes.

_Clive Lewis OBE ACIArb,
Founder and Managing Director of Globis Mediation Services._