Workplace mediators are more in demand than ever. The majority of our lives are going to be spent at work. Whether it is your job for life, a temporary position, full or part time, we all need and want it to be as pleasant and as hassle free as possible.
Factor in if you are the employer, or a HR manager, the last thing you need and want is employees complaining about another to you daily.
Workplace Dispute Figures
ACAS reported that the end of 2025 saw that over the course of one year, nearly half, forty four percent of all United Kingdom employees had experienced some sort of workplace dispute with another employee. To put that into context, that is a staggering ten million people!
The main contenders were;
- Performance and lack of performance issues.
- Initial disagreements over work and non-work related issues leading to broken relations.
- Poor and none existent communication, which has stemmed from miscommunications and misunderstandings.
The research found that nearly sixty per cent of these employees experienced and suffered with extreme anxiety, stress and or depression.
Employment v Workplace Mediation
Workplace mediation belongs to the mediation family. All types of mediation aim to resolve disputes quickly, cost effectively, to reduce stress and avoid court or an employment tribunal claim.
Employment mediation is different to workplace mediation which seeks to tackle pay, working conditions and disputes around constructive dismissal. In essence disputes between the employer and employee.
Workplace mediation deals with disputes between employees over anything. The main ones being;
- Bullying, victimisation, racism.
- Discrimination (sex, age, race), sexual harassment, disability, reasonable adjustments, equality.
- Reduced productivity, performance, low morale.
- Manager and employee (hierarchy) / management style, undermining, lack of support, performance, capability route.
- Personal issues outside of the workplace, being used to fuel disputes in the workplace.
- Personality clashes, working styles, gossip, trust, lack of trust, physical altercations.
- Breakdown in communication, working relationships, miscommunication / understanding.
- Absence, long term sick. Reintegrating dismissed / reinstated employees back into the workplace.
- Grievance & disciplinary, misconduct, appeal of the same.
- Mental health, disabilities, disorders, neurodiversity issues.
How Workplace Mediators Resolve Employee Disputes Effectively?
Workplace Mediators
Workplace mediators are specifically trained to be independent, neutral and none judgemental. They usually come from a legal, HR background, but that is not necessary. What is necessary is that they come from a professional background are degree holders and hold an accredited workplace mediation qualification.
How Workplace Mediation Works?
How does it all work? Based on just two employees, this is how a workplace mediation should run from start to finish. A private confidential, separate meeting with each employee for at least 45 – 90 minutes each. In person or online.
The mediator will explain their role, the process, and the ground rules. Mediation is voluntary, confidential, and without prejudice. Give a summary of their experience, qualifications, and background.
Here they will hand over to the employee and simply ask them what has happened, what went wrong, when, how, and why. And what they realistically want to achieve through mediation, and how that can be done?
It is important to then have a lunch break once both employees have been seen. This allows them to reflect upon their sessions. And eat!
After lunch, the first joint session commences. The mediator will explain that he wants each employee in turn to repeat what they had to them in their private session, parking anything too contentious and confidential for later.
They assist the employees, coach them on what to deliver and when. Allowing for a conversation to emerge, which they then just in effect umpire and manage. The remainder of the day is spent with a series of private and joint sessions to iron out all the issues between the employees.
Any agreement is then committed to writing; unlike commercial mediation, it is not legally binding, as the employees do not sign it, and it just acts like an aid memoir, an action plan of what was agreed, what each employee expects from the other going forward. The agreement can only be shared with the employer and HR if the employees consent to this.
