New Mediation Guidance for Small Businesses

ACAS and the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) have launched a new guide on workplace mediation, which ACAS claims could have helped to reduce the 190,000 individual employment tribunal claims in 2007/08.

'Mediation - an Employers' Guide' aims to offer an insight into an employer's experience of mediation. It draws on a survey of CIPD members, a survey of 500 SMEs and a series of case studies with companies running mediation schemes.

The guide includes:

-  The impact of conflict in the workplace

-  Mediation

-  The benefits of mediation

-  Implementing mediation within an organisation

-  Managing the mediation process

-  Evaluation

-  Conclusions

-  Useful contacts

-  References & further reading

According to the survey of SMEs, the the organisations that use the mediation process indicated that it was successful - 49% said the last mediation had resolved the issue completely, and 82% said it had resolved the issues either completely or partly.

For further information and to download the guidance please visit the ACAS website at: www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=949&p=0