Workplace Mediation

Restore working relationships with our workplace mediation service

Workplace mediation plays a crucial role in addressing team conflicts, which are common and can occur at all levels.

Our one-day workplace mediation service is a quick, cost-effective, and private method of resolving disputes: saving the stresses and costs of formal action, minimising absenteeism, and conforming to current best practice. It focuses on all parties getting what they want from their working relationships with others, and on moving forwards amicably with a mutual agreement.

Workplace mediation is also be suitable for teams in dispute (where there are four or more parties involved) in a process that can spread over multiple days.

Workplace mediation is used to address:

Personality clashes
Allegations of bullying, harassment, and unfair treatment
Communication issues
Issues with management styles
Re-organisation or re-deployment difficulties

And benefits include:

Working relationships are preserved, improved, and future-proofed
Costly and time-consuming formal action is avoided
Staff can be retained and training needs are identified
The employer conforms to legislation and best practice

How does it work?

1. Referring a case

A completed referral form, providing us with details of the dispute and of the parties, and a signed booking form all are that is needed to book in the case.

2. Before the mediation

The case manager will liaise with the referrer to organise the logistics, including timings, contact information, and online links (if required).

3. Individual meetings

The mediator will meet with each party individually to discuss the dispute to date. These private sessions will last for approximately 1½ hours each.

4. Joint meeting

Getting parties together for half a day allows for a comprehensive airing of views, as well as a discussion with a view to building an agreement.

5. The agreement

The agreement is a joint plan of action decided upon by the participants. The mediator can write it up as a good faith agreement to give to both parties.

6. Feeding back

If there is a third-party referrer, UK Mediation will provide them with a Mediation Summary on the next working day (subject to parties’ consent).

7. Follow-up

The case manager will follow up the situation after an agreed period by contacting the parties confidentially to see if the agreement is working.

Workplace mediation FAQs

We understand that you may have some queries about how workplace mediation works.

We’ve answered some of the most Frequently Asked Questions below.

What is workplace mediation?

Workplace Mediation is a method of mediation dedicated towards resolving disputes for single parties and teams. Workplace mediation can be handled privately with the intent of understanding what parties want from their working relationship.

Does workplace mediation work?

Simply put, yes.

We have been doing this for 23 years now and have seen a sharp rise in the number of organisations investing in mediation services to resolve workplace disputes.

The vast majority of cases end with some sort of future-focused agreement being written up, and the feedback we receive from parties speaks for itself.

What happens if an agreement isn’t made during a workplace mediation case?

The vast majority of workplace mediation cases will end with some sort of written agreement. However, if this doesn’t happen, a Non-Agreement Form will be provided instead.

Even if an agreement isn’t reached on the day, mediation at work can still be helpful in re-opening lines of communication, which can lead to improved working relationships further down the line.

Where will the workplace mediation take place?

Our workplace mediation service can be delivered either online or face-to-face.

If delivered face-to-face, this will typically take place at your organisation’s site or office, but can be done at any venue with access to two quiet rooms. This must be organised by the referrer prior to the mediation day.

Can I bring a representative with me to the mediation session?

No, we recommend that parties attend on their own in order to promote open and honest dialogue.

How long does workplace mediation take?

For two- or three-party disputes, we would recommend a full day's workplace mediation service running from 9:30-4:30.

For team or group disputes, multiple days and perhaps multiple mediators (depending on numbers) will be required.

Can workplace mediation be done online?

Successful mediation cases can indeed be delivered online. Even now, we continue to deliver a small percentage of our workplace mediation cases virtually. Feedback has been excellent and we continue to see superb results for the parties.

However, if given the choice between the two (online or face-to-face), we would still recommend having the workplace mediation face-to-face. We find that that the physical human element can be extremely valuable and getting people together in a room often yields the most benefits.

Is workplace mediation confidential?

Yes, we ask parties to sign a Liability and Confidentiality Agreement on the day of the mediation to make sure that whatever is said does not leave the room.

In addition, all notes related to the case are disposed of upon completion.

Is workplace mediation voluntary?

Yes, people cannot be made to take part in mediation.

If parties are coerced or forced to take part on the day, we find that this often hinders the result of the mediation and makes it less likely to arrive at a successful conclusion.

Our relational model of mediation...

Here at UK Mediation, we treat conflict as a failure of dialogue and as a breakdown in a relationship.

Our relational model, re:talk, aims to restore dialogue, repair relationships, and rebuild teams, while re:connect allows us to achieve the same objectives through online mediation.

What our clients say

"I was really pleased with the quick and efficient service that we received from UK Mediation. With their knowledge and expertise, we were able to defuse a situation with an amicable outcome that left the parties happy."

Lauren Rowe Addison Lee

"UK Mediation were very easy to work with: they organised a session quickly, were clear about what they could achieve, and were able to engage both parties in the mediation on the day requested. This helped them work towards a suitable resolution."

Mel Stubbs Alzheimer's Society

"UK Mediation has provided mediation services as part of the Council’s approach to resolving workplace conflict. This has been very successful and I would recommend them to other organisations wanting to do the same."

Karen Childs Bassetlaw District Council

"We've been using the services of UK Mediation for about 8 years now and it's been really effective. It has had a positive impact on our employee relations and the success rate has been very, very high."

Samantha Birkett Liverpool John Moores University

"UK Mediation have been a great support for us. A long ongoing situation was resolved thanks to their involvement. Would highly recommend and use again in the future if needed."