1. Delivering on Gibbons: the business case for mediation at work
Mike Emmott
CIPD Adviser, Public Policy

2. People and Performance Model: the influence of HR practices
Training and Development
Performance Appraisal
Career opportunity
Job security
Recruitment/ selection
Ability/skill
Motivation/ Incentive
Opportunity to participate
Front line management Implementing - Enacting Leading Controlling
Organisation commitment
Motivation
Job satisfaction
Pay satisfaction
Discretionary Behaviour
Performance outcomes +
Work-life balance
Job challenge/job autonomy
Teamworking
Involvement
Communication
Understanding the people and performance link (CIPD 2003)

3. Influence of conflict on performance
conflict management is not visible in the model
but conflict reduces employee satisfaction and motivation
and inhibits employee engagement
HR departments spend time “fire-fighting” and responding to ET claims

4. Major causes of conflict at work
Behaviour/conduct
Performance
Sickness absence
Attendance
Relationships between colleagues
Theft/fraud
Bullying/harassment
Sex discrimination
Managing conflict at work (CIPD 2007)

5. Costs for employers
Average annual costs to employers of dealing with ET claims (excluding management time) almost £20k
Businesses spend almost ten days on average dealing with an individual claim (including 7.7 days senior managers’ time)
33% of employers also report non-financial negative effects
Average cost of defending an individual ET claim estimated around £9000 (Gibbons report)
CIPD research 2007

6. Costs for employees Adverse impact on health
Strain on relationships inside and outside the workplace
Damage to future career prospects
Stress and depression reported in 33% of cases
Claimants spend an average of £2500 on legal fees
Gibbons review March 2007

7. What are the benefits of mediation?
Time - mediation often completed in one meeting
Legal representation optional
Confidentiality
Problem-solving approach to complaints reduces disruption and future problems
Lower employee turnover
Fair process: parties contribute to solution
No finding of guilt or innocence
“Win-win” solution

8. Business benefits as seen by employers
benefit most frequently mentioned is improving relationships between employees (83%)
reducing or eliminating the stress involved in more formal processes (71%).
almost half of respondents (49%) see mediation as avoiding the costs of defending employment tribunal claims
majority of organisations that make use of mediation do so primarily for ‘soft’ or cultural reasons ie mediation is about performance not just costs
Workplace mediation: how employers do it (CIPD 2008)

9. Impact of mediation on ET claims
Employers that provide mediation training receive fewer ET claims
Average 3 claims compared with 3.5
Marked public sector effect (4.6 claims compared with 8.9)
Employers with 10,000+ employees report about one quarter the number of claims if they provide mediation training
Managing conflict at work (CIPD 2007)

10. Employers’ use of mediation
only 30% of employers train any employees in mediation skills
training is more common in public services (53%) than in other sectors (manufacturing and production 15%)
1in 4 employers use internal mediation
1 in 5 employers use external mediation (e.g. ACAS)

11. Why don’t employers make more use of mediation?
Cost is seen as the biggest single issue inhibiting the greater use of mediation.
Lack of trust by employees is also an important factor referred to by 16% of respondents.
Lack of understanding about the process (21%), lack of interest by senior management (13%) and difficulties in finding a mediator (12%) are also significant factors.
Resistance by line managers is seen as inhibiting the use of mediation by 12% of respondents.

12. Gibbons agenda: more disputes to be resolved in the workplace
repeal statutory dispute resolution procedures
produce clear, simple, non-prescriptive guidelines on discipline and grievances
ensure “incentives to comply with new guidelines by maintaining and expanding employment tribunals’ discretion to take into account reasonableness of behaviour and procedure when making awards and costs orders”

13. Other Gibbons recommendations
increase quality of advice to potential claimants and respondents through adequately resourced helpline…
…including as to the realities of tribunal claims and the potential benefits of alternative dispute resolution
offer incentives to early resolution techniques by giving employment tribunals discretion to take into account the parties’ efforts to settle the dispute when making awards and costs orders

14. The Gibbons challenge
“…all employer and employee organisations to commit to implementing and promoting EDR…”
how will we recognise success?
what is the price of failure (after earlier misfires)?
what alternatives are on offer to ensure the “effective and proportionate enforcement of rights”?
how will employment tribunals respond to the Acas Code: how will they promote early dispute resolution?