Conditions For Mediation

The mediator does not impose a solution on the parties as it will be up to the employees engaged in the mediation process to arrive together at a resolution that all feel they can live with.

The mediators will assist the parties to identify the problems and facilitate a safe and respectful discussion and explore whether a settlement or resolution is possible.

Voluntary

Mediation is always voluntary. No one is ever forced, nor should they be coerced to participate. No one "sends" participants to mediation and no one enforces any agreement reached. The parties must choose mediation, or it will not happen, and chose to abide by their agreement (if one is reached). Mediators maintain complete confidentiality and parties are asked at the outset to sign a Participant Guidelines and Confidentiality Agreement that indicates their willingness to abide by these parameters.

The voluntary nature of mediation is one of its strengths and must be observed by all if it is to have a chance of succeeding. It is therefore extremely important that employees do not feel that they may be sanctioned in some way if they do not choose to attempt mediation.

Informality

Workplace mediation is also informal in nature and is not part of the formal grievance handling procedure. As such no formal notes or minutes are taken during the mediation sessions.

Participants and the mediator are able to make hand-written notes for their own personal use during the mediation process but these are then destroyed at the end of the process.

Impartiality and Neutrality

The independence of the mediator is essential if all parties are to feel that the process is being conducted in an impartial manner. This can be difficult to achieve sometimes when using internal mediators as there are always connections between people at work which may lead one or more parties to feel that a particular colleague is unacceptable to them as a mediator as they may not feel that they are capable of being neutral and impartial.

For this reason it is important to have a range of employees drawn from a cross section of operational areas who are available to perform this role as this will increase the likelihood of both parties feeling comfortable with the choice of mediator.

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