For many individuals involved in lengthy divorce proceedings, agreeing on who owns specific assets or how the house will be split is expensive and time consuming. The natural reaction in these situations is to speak with a solicitor, but many are now taking up the option of training as mediators, offering this as an alternative service.

As The Court of Appeal and Small Claims Process are now encouraging the use of mediation, solicitors and law professionals are seeing the potential that mediation offers. Disputes can be resolved quickly and at a reduced cost to their clients. As a solicitor, you will also be able to draw up binding documents containing the agreements made by the disputing parties, which adds even more weight to the process.

Mediation can be used for a variety of commercial disputes including instances of insolvency and disputes between a buyer & supplier, where maintaining a positive working relationship is essential for ongoing business.

If you are currently operating as a solicitor and want to add Commercial Mediation to your existing skills set, please contact us or call 01773 822222.

When the word ‘training’ arises within an organisation, there is often an element of fear, wondering whether it will be dull, boring or both. But this course certainly does not warrant that reaction.

Our intensive 4 day mediation programme allows you to get hands on, and stuck in with dispute simulations, rather than be lectured to. As mediation is an extremely hands on form of dispute resolution, this is how we like to run our courses. We use clips from our DVD, and give all participants the chance to mediate on dispute simulations. And where would be better to do this than York, one of Britain’s most beautiful cities, which is packed with things to do.

In order to compensate individuals affected by the oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has decided to appoint an independent mediator. This role is likely to act as a self sufficient entity, and will be the key to ensuring that those affected are rightfully compensated. As the mediator is ‘free to disagree with BP’s position’ it should allow for reasonable and realistic agreements to be forged, as well as instilling impartiality.

The appointment of a mediator is something that may not have been considered a decade ago, but is now a realistic solution employed to resolve what is dubbed the ‘worst environmental disaster in US history’ by the White House. During the last few years, multi-national corporations have seen the benefits of a rapid and cost effective solution when using mediation. Although it is now immensely popular when used to resolve workplace disputes, the principals and frameworks used can be transferred to many different kinds of conflict, and many different situations.

To read the entire article visit: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7062448

As most of you are aware, the World Cup in South Africa is now underway, with a nations hopes pinned on England. With the World Cup comes an increase in sick days, as people are eager to see the crucial matches.

A survey conducted by Betfair suggests that 32% of fans would consider skipping work to watch a crucial game this summer, which could be a major problem for employers and the productivity of an organisation. Some die-hard football fans are willing to take unauthorised sick days, which is likely to annoy less passionate football fans and dedicated employees. The result is often conflict.

If your organisation has not fully prepared for possible altercations as a result of the World Cup, then putting some simple policies in place may deter employees from having sick days, as well as avoiding conflict. Allowing individuals to listen to games on the radio or keeping up to date on the internet is very simple to do and could prevent arguments over the next 4 weeks. These procedures also help to maintain productivity levels, as well as good relations between the organisation and employees.   

However, if these arguments do occur, resolving the issue immediately will alleviate any bad feelings between the two individuals. Mediating between the disputing parties allows you to talk sensibly and allows each party to be heard. This in turn will help to resolve the issues in hand, and get your team working together in no time.

British Airways are holding talks with union leaders in an attempt to avert a further strike during June. If the strike goes ahead, it is likely to cause major disruption, and will be an inconvenience to many travellers and holiday makers this summer.

However, the burning question is: Can mediation resolve this dispute? Up to this point there has already been a number of strikes, and with this industrial action proving fruitless, there is certainly a strong case for mediation. A Unite spokesman stated “The only way to settle this long-running dispute is through negotiation.” This key statement points firmly in the direction of mediation because an integral part of the process is willingness to compromise. With this mind set from both parties, there is likely to be a reasonable and sensible outcome.

From a British Airways perspective, they are frequently renowned for providing excellent customer service levels, which are difficult to deliver if strikes occur amongst staff. This unrest may well have been resolved months ago if both disputing parties had sat down and outlined their differences of opinion. For this reason, they rely on key staff members, and if the workforce is happy, they are likely to be more productive.

Mediation seems like the sensible option for both parties to put their differences aside and come to a compromise.  

If you are currently finding it difficult to work with colleagues, or encounter complaints on a regular basis as part of your job responsibilities, mediation may be an alternative method to resolving these conflicts. If you would like a little more information about this or want to chat to mediator before you make the decision, then come along to one of our Free Introduction to Mediation Lunchtime Seminars. Regardless of whether mediation is for you or not, the lunch is still free!

25th June 2010 / Derbyshire
2nd July 2010 / Southampton
3rd September 2010 / Derbyshire
17th September 2010 / Newcastle

Recent figures show that there are 2.51 million people unemployed in the UK. With statistics like these, redundancies are inevitable or have already happened to some individuals. When certain employees are made redundant and others keep their jobs, there is a high probability of conflict due to individuals feeling ‘hard done by’ especially if they have given the company years of service. 

After cuts have been made, restructuring and reallocation of job roles is difficult, with individuals unwilling to adapt, or having key responsibilities revoked. This can lead to dissatisfaction and disruption within departments, which can be easily avoided if you plan for all eventualities. However, if the conflict is looking like becoming serious and going to the grievance procedure stage, mediation could be a real option. According to The Guardian, mediation is “an approach that’s gaining currency with human resources departments.” which is probably due to the speed of resolution and how it maintains working relationships. So if these scenarios sound familiar, why not give mediation a go?

To see further statistics from the labour market visit: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0510.pdf

For organisations – both public and private, the maintenance of a relationship between the organisation and customer or service user is a priority for all concerned. There has been a noticeable upturn in the use of mediation for complaints handling from services such as the NHS through to insurance companies and the financial sector. There could be many reasons for this including the current climate which has forced everyone in all sectors to acknowledge that the customer is key to the success of that organisation. Whether the customer is purchasing a product or service or whether the customer is a service user of the NHS, local housing association or social services, for example, the relationship between each party is instrinsic to the resolution and continued dialogue between them. It will always be much more beneficial for an organisation to resolve disputes or complaints without the need to progress onto the more formal stages of their policy, but this does not mean to say the outcome is any less effective. Far from being an “easy option” or a soft-approach, it is mediation that can maintain communication and that all-important relationship throughout the procedure. In comparison, more formal methods of complaint handling can be effective in reaching a result, an outcome or a decision, but it is mediation that promotes a win-win situation, an ongoing relationship and often improvements to services along the way.

The use of Commercial Mediation is on the increase, not just in the UK, but as an international method of resolving disputes. The Civil Procedures Rules, the Court of Appeal and the Small Claims Process have been urging disputants to consider mediation an an alternative to the lengthy and costly process of going to court. In fact, a court can refuse to award costs to the successful party if they failed to take-up an offer of mediation from the other side.

With the state of the economy and businesses struggling to juggle decreasing budgets and increasing disputes, now is not a good time to embark upon a drawn-out court case that will certainly not help the bank balance of any company.

Commercial mediation deals with disputes from professional negligence, buildings, breach of contract and construction to debt-recovery, wills and probate, personal injury and boundary issues. Commercial mediation is different to other types of mediation as it deals with a dispute over something tangiable or contractural rather than an interpersonal issue between two or more individuals.

Companies struggling to keep their bank balances in control and not wishing to waste uneccesary time, benefit from commercial mediation as this allows them to reach a speedy agreement and move on. Something that can benefit every organisation when now really isn’t the time to stand still.

Now is not the time to be dealing with disputes. Think of all the valuable time, money and resources that are spent every day in dealing with disputes and conflict and how that time could be more usefully invested in your company and for your employees or customers.

Mediation is not just about resolving an argument between two people.  An argument, dispute or fragile working relationship can damage future business, working practices and a whole environment if left unchecked. It can also damage relationship with customers or service users – something that no company or organisation wants at any time, but especially when times are already tough.

Mediation can be used in so many ways and is not the monopoly of either the legal or HR professions. Whilst dispute resolution is often discussed within the legal sector for resolving a myriad of issues, or within larger organisations to help employees deal with interpersonal disputes, mediation has no boundaries regarding the type of dispute or the potential to resolve it.

Times are tough, resources are scarce, budgets are tight and time is limited, and yet never has there been a more important time to keep communication flowing and your best assets happy and motivated. Whether these be your customers or employees, mediation is the quickest and most effective route of removing barriers and keeping things moving.

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