A short guide to what mediation is, how it works, and whether it might help with the dispute you’re facing.
If you’re dealing with a difficult situation at work — a conflict with a colleague, a grievance, or a claim that’s already heading towards an Employment Tribunal — you may have been told to “try mediation” without much explanation of what that actually involves. This page sets out the basics.
What Is Mediation?
Mediation is a way of resolving a dispute without a Judge, a Tribunal, or a formal ruling deciding who is right. Instead, an independent, neutral person — the mediator — helps the people involved talk through the issue and find a way forward that both sides can accept.
The mediator doesn’t take sides, doesn’t investigate who’s to blame, and doesn’t impose a decision. Their role is to keep the conversation constructive, help each side understand the other’s position, and support them in reaching their own agreement — one a Court or Tribunal has no power to hand down, because it can include things like an apology, a change in working arrangements, or an agreed way of working together going forward, not just money.
How Does a Mediation Actually Work?
Every mediation is shaped around the people involved, but most follow a similar pattern:
- Referral and agreement to take part — Both sides agree, voluntarily, to attempt mediation. No one can be forced into it.
- Preparation calls — The mediator speaks to each side separately beforehand, to understand the background and explain how the day will run.
- Joint and private sessions — On the day, there’s often an initial joint session, followed by separate private conversations between the mediator and each side — sometimes called “shuttle” mediation — as the issues narrow.
- Working towards an outcome — The mediator helps both sides test ideas and explore options, without pressuring either side to accept anything.
- Agreement (or not) — If an agreement is reached, it’s written down and signed. If not, both sides remain free to pursue other options — and often find the issues in dispute have narrowed regardless.
The Principles That Make It Work
- Voluntary — no one is forced to take part, or to agree to anything they’re not comfortable with.
- Confidential — what’s discussed in mediation stays private, with limited exceptions such as safeguarding concerns.
- Impartial — the mediator represents neither side and has no stake in the outcome.
- Without prejudice — discussions can’t generally be used as evidence if the matter later proceeds to a Tribunal or court.
- Self-determined — the outcome is whatever the parties agree, not what’s imposed on them.
When Is Mediation Worth Considering?
Mediation tends to help most when:
- The people involved need to keep working together, or working relationships are worth preserving.
- Both sides want a resolution faster and more privately than litigation allows.
- The dispute has an emotional or relational element that a purely legal process won’t resolve.
- Talks have stalled, and a neutral third party could help unlock the deadlock.
It’s less likely to help where one side isn’t willing to engage at all, or where a binding legal precedent is genuinely what’s needed — though even then, it’s often worth a conversation before ruling it out.
What Mediation Is Not
- It isn’t arbitration — the mediator has no power to impose a decision.
- It isn’t a disciplinary or grievance investigation — it’s not about establishing fault.
- It isn’t a substitute for legal advice — parties can attend with or without a solicitor, and mediation works alongside proper legal guidance, not instead of it.
- It isn’t only a last resort — it can be raised at almost any stage, including before a formal process has even started.
Considering Mediation for a Workplace or Employment Dispute?
Adele Martins, Partner and Head of Employment at Magrath Sheldrick, is a CMC Registered mediator with 25 years’ experience as an employment litigator. She mediates both workplace conflicts and disputes already heading towards a Tribunal or court.