Workplace Mediation

Business ownership disputes can threaten the very existence of a company, whether they relate to who has the final say in management decisions, who will take over when a current owner retires, or a disagreement between siblings in a family-owned business.

It is not uncommon for Marcia Mediation to encounter disputes in family owned companies. This is where family mediation and workplace mediation meet.

In this instance, Marcia Mediation can provide a fully experienced and well rounded approach to resolving issues which have both a professional, financial and emotional investment. 

At Marcia Mediation we offer accredited workplace mediation services, providing you with the professional support you need to resolve your differences and make a decision that is mutually agreeable and in the best interests of your company.

Ultimately this is what matters most, and any future plans you agree should always look beyond yourselves as individuals and factor in what’s best for your business, something an accredited workplace mediator can help you to do.

Examples of owner-level workplace disputes

There are all kinds of ownership disputes and owner v owner grievances that a mediator can help with.

A few examples might include:

– Succession planning when owners are significantly different ages.

– Disagreements over when and whether to sell the company.

– Disputes over how much time and effort each party is putting in.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and generally speaking if you find yourself at an impasse in a dispute between business owners, a mediator from Marcia Mediation can help.

Disputes between owners and employees are among the biggest imbalances of power in workplace grievances, and it’s important to show that the employee’s side of the story is both heard and fairly treated.

Workplace mediators help to do this by treating both parties as equals. That is not to say that a workplace mediator will overcompensate by giving too much representation to the employee.

Instead, a mediator’s role is to find the right balance – and hopefully some common ground – so that everyone’s views can be taken into account and a fair, mutually agreeable outcome decided upon.

The employee benefits from equal representation despite holding less of the power, while the owner benefits from a non-discriminatory disputes policy that can retain talented employees and avoid future employment tribunals and court action.

Common owner-employee disputes

In many cases an experienced workplace mediator like Marcia Mediation will have encountered a very similar situation before.

Some examples include:

– An owner needs to enforce disciplinary action but the employee refuses to recognise it.

– An employee walks out without serving notice then claims constructive dismissal.

– An impasse is reached between the power and control of the employer, and the individual rights of the employee.

This last example describes the vast majority of owner-employee workplace disputes, where the employee believes their rights protect them against the owner’s actions, even if the owner believes their actions are in the best interests of the workplace.

Disputes between employees – even at the same level in the promotion ladder – are not always fair and equal. That’s where a workplace mediator can help.

Even if the employer believes they are acting impartially, it can be difficult to prove this and if one employee feels unfairly treated, this can lead to further tribunals and litigation.

A workplace mediator is there to listen to all sides – both employees and the employer too if appropriate – and help to move talks along in a fair and balanced way.

This leaves all involved feeling that they had equal input into the outcome and can improve the chances of a mutually satisfactory result.

When employees disagree

Employee grievances are difficult to referee. In most cases, one employee will have been with the company for longer; one may be better performing; and one may be in a more senior role.

Any such imbalance can make it hard to take sides. You don’t want to automatically side with the longest serving or most senior employee, but you don’t want to unfairly favour the other employee to compensate.

Workplace mediation offers something different and is the ideal solution to this problem. Mediators don’t take sides at all – we are there to find the middle ground on which all parties can agree.

This also removes the burden from managers and employers, ensuring you do not face accusations of discrimination or constructive dismissal in the future.

How does employee mediation work?

Employee mediation can be a part of your long-term disputes policy, but you can also call us in if a particular grievance has proved impossible to resolve internally.

Your workplace mediator will talk to all the relevant parties, including both employees, to try to find out exactly what has created the dispute and whether it is a simple misunderstanding or something deeper.

Managers and employers can be involved if appropriate, but in many cases it is quickly clear what has gone wrong and relatively quick and easy to resolve it.

Workplace mediation of disputes between managers can help to avoid the situation where one party is more senior than the other and therefore expects the company to take their side.

It is also an effective solution when the parties involved are at similar levels of management in different departments or different parts of the company hierarchy, making it unclear who is in the more senior role.

By calling in an experienced workplace mediator, you can judge each party’s claims on merit rather than management level and show that you are taking fair and equal action.

This improves outcomes by achieving a positive and satisfactory result for both parties where possible and reducing the risk of future legal action or tribunal claims.

Why do managers disagree?

Disputes between managers are not uncommon. In many cases they arise when managers have a degree of autonomy but not full control.

This can lead to disagreements about how best to proceed with a particular project, especially when multiple departments are involved and there is not one clear line management structure to follow.

In such cases, workplace mediation provides an independent voice – and independent ears – to listen to all sides of the story and help establish a route forwards.

By doing this quickly and amicably, you can keep projects on track and reduce the negative impact of disputes across the board, while achieving a positive resolution faster and with less stress and financial cost.

Disputes between managers and lower-level employees can be a challenge for company owners and directors to resolve fairly.

In the first instance you might want to side with the manager. This is not entirely unreasonable, as they are usually the longer-serving employee and closer to the heart of your organisation.

However, adopting this as your default position is troublesome. It effectively puts employees at a disadvantage even when they have a legitimate grievance to raise.

Workplace mediation is the better option. It takes a neutral, independent stance and makes certain that no decisions are made until both sides of the story have been heard and weighed up on an equal footing.

Solutions without taking sides

An experienced workplace mediator does not take sides. Instead they act on the evidence from all involved parties to produce a solution that is the best fit for all concerned.

In many disputes in the workplace, the ‘normal’ approach is to seek a compromise where both parties are forced to lower their expectations.

But with mediation it’s often possible to come up with a flexible way forward so that nobody needs to compromise, leaving all parties feeling more positive about the solution.

This is when an independent mediator is at their best, drawing on all of their experience in business to identify the core of the problem and the ideal way to resolve it with maximum satisfaction all round.