SINCE May 6 this year, it has been compulsory for parties to most disputes heading for tribunal to involve the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to attempt to resolve the dispute before entering litigation.
While it is usually the prospective claimant who escalates the matter, an employer may also refer the dispute, if there might be a claim.
The process, known as Early Conciliation, involves telephone contact over a maximum period of a month and applies a mediatory approach. If conciliation does not work, ACAS issues a certificate which opens the gate to litigation.
Businesses would be wrong, however, to leave all disputes to the ACAS Early Conciliation process in the way that managing litigation could be left to lawyers.
One of the fundamental principles of mediation is that the participants themselves decide the outcome.
A mediation process simply involves a third party facilitating communication between the parties.
A workforce imbued with a culture of discussion and agreed resolution of problems will cope better with ACAS Early Conciliation than one used to entrenched positions.
All businesses in Surrey, large or small, should consider how to achieve this. Internal or external mediators are one option, easy access to advice another.
Recent research shows a 79 per cent fall in tribunal claims (www.realbusiness.co.uk). That does not mean the disappearance of conflict, but a sea change in its resolution. Unresolved or festering conflict takes up hours of staff time and saps productivity. Businesses have nothing to fear from the dwindling role of litigation. Good businesses have everything to gain.
Sandhya Drew is a consultant with Surrey Mediation
