Delivering on Gibbons: the business case for mediation at work

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 --------------- Motivatio
n -------------- Job satisfaction
Pay satisfaction
Performance outcomes
Discretionary Behaviour
Work-life balance
Job challenge/job autonomy
Teamworking
Involvement
Communication
Understanding the people and performance link
(CIPD 2003)
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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

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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
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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
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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

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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)
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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)
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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)

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Why dont 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.

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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

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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

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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?