News

Workplace Mediation Research

30 June 2009

In a recent news item on standards and regulation within the mediation sector, we commented on the lack of research within workplace mediation. In October 2008 The Economic, Social & Research Council awarded £61k for a research fellow post to

"explore workplace conflict and mediation against the backdrop of the Gibbons Review (Better Dispute Resolution: A Review of Employment Dispute Resolution in Great Britain) and mediation research/evaluation being undertaken in Acas´ Research and Evaluation Section (RES)."

The project is scheduled to be completed in July 2009.

The research agenda is as follows
  • appraise the state of play regarding mediation of employment disputes, possibly alongside a sectoral study;
  • expand knowledge of Employment Tribunal claims, in particular the incidence of multiple claims and the patterns and impact of representation;
  • develop an e-survey with trade union representatives relating to their strategies for resolving individual and collective disputes;
  • design a study of mediators to encapsulate mediation processes; and
  • identify areas for further research and explore funding sources.
Link to Research Fellow at Swansea University - here.