Managing workplace disputes – an alternative to employment tribunal litigation
9th November 2006
CEDR logo
The Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD) event, "Managing Workplace Disputes", has been arranged in partnership with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) to show how and why mediation works and why it can be particularly effective in discrimination cases.
Workplace disputes and employment tribunal claims cost British business £33 billion a year, not to mention causing disruption to business and damage to reputation.
Allegations of disability discrimination and failure to make adjustments for disabled members of staff can be particularly complex and emotive.
Fiona Colquhoun, a CEDR Director, said: "Mediation is a very flexible and cost effective process. It allows individuals in dispute to develop and reach their own solutions with the help of a highly skilled independent person.
"Over 80 per cent of longstanding conflicts and employment disputes are resolved through mediation, and often those which have appeared to be the most irresolvable do settle."
Bela Gor, Head of Legal, Policy and Information at EFD said: "Mediation may be particularly effective for Disability Discrimination Act cases when there is an ongoing employment relationship between the parties involved.
"Complex issues around what is reasonable and what can be done, need to be explained and we hope this event will go some way to doing that."
The event, "Managing Workplace Disputes", will take place in central London on Thursday 16 November 2006.
Ends
Notes to editors
Further information on the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution:
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution is the leader in the development of neutral-assisted dispute resolution. It is a non-profit organisation and its mission is to encourage and develop cost effective dispute prevention and dispute resolution in commercial and public sector disputes and in civil litigation. CEDR operates in the UK and internationally and has been instrumental in helping to bring mediation into the heart of business practice and into the judicial system. CEDR Mediator Accreditation is recognised as an international standard.
For further information on CEDR call 020 7536 6000 or email mailto:membership@cedr.co.uk
Media enquiries, please contact:
Liz Nightingale, Communications Manager
Employers' Forum on Disability
Email: liz.nightingale@efd.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7403 3020
About Employers' Forum on Disability
Employers' Forum on Disability is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects employers and service providers. With over 400 members, EFD represents organisations that employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce.Since its establishment in 1991, EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.