Mediate early

Small businesses should consider mediation earlier when solving workplace disputes to avoid the risk of employment tribunal action, Acas says. The advice follows new research which reveals that most managers see mediation as a last resort. The study, which polled 500 decision-makers from small businesses showed that just 7% of businesses had used mediation and 52% of respondents thought mediation was only suited to large organisations. The value of mediation was clearly recognised by respondents: 72% said mediation
sounds like a good tool for resolving workplace disputes, and 63% said a more widespread use of mediation would reduce the number of employment tribunal claims. Of the businesses that had used mediation, 82% said it had resolved the issues completely or partly.