This means that the parties can seek to resolve a case in any way they consider will assist them to resume a constructive and cooperative relationship. Given the nature of the jurisdiction and the orders available, should a case not be resolved the Commission will not be promoting or recommending the resolution of these applications on the basis of monetary payments. Workers, employers and people against whom bullying is alleged the parties do not need to be represented at mediation, but may have a support person or a representative including a lawyer with them if they prefer.
A support person usually does not take an active part in the mediation but is there to give you moral support. The support person is often a friend or family member. If the case does not resolve at mediation and proceeds to a conference or hearing, formal permission to be represented by an external lawyer or paid agent needs to be granted by a Commission Member. If you need help, such as a language or sign language interpreter, please let us know as soon as possible before the mediation so we can arrange it for you.
This is a free service. Information about help for non-English speakers can be found on our website. If you are not available on the date of the mediation you may request an adjournment ie request a change of time or date. Adjournment requests must be made in writing to the Commission and will only be granted if the Commission considers there are substantial grounds. Any requests should be made as early as possible before the mediation date, and you must also send a copy of your request to the other parties involved in the case.
If there is no agreement the case will progress to a formal conference or hearing before a Commission Member. This will enable the application to be determined and a binding decision made. You can find out more about hearings and conferences on our website. Please note: If you would like a response to your question, please contact us or lodge a complaint. This feedback is only about content on this page and will be used to improve website usability. The comments are not monitored for personal information or workplace complaints.
Skip to main content. We are building a new website. However, because our world is becoming socially more conscious with the advent of movements such as MeToo and TimesUp, people are becoming more courageous about bringing these issues out into the open. A question I have pondered as a workplace mediator is whether mediation is the most suitable way to deal with the conflict that has arisen from the increase of bullying complaints in the workplace.
Workplace bullying is defined as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers. It is estimated that nearly half of Australian employees have experienced some form of workplace bullying during their lives. It is also known to be associated with many adverse outcomes such as poor mental health. Importantly, workplace bullying can also have a significant impact on organisations through increased absenteeism and presenteeism, high rates of staff turnover, unfair dismissal allegations, and expensive legal costs.
I was recently called in to conduct a mediation between two employees in a large government organisation.
The parties were part of a small team of twelve employees. Party A was the team manager. Party B was a team member who had been part of the team for around nine months. After conducting a pre-mediation with both parties individually, it was clear that their relationship was fractured.
For example, B spoke about being excluded from team meetings on an ongoing basis. She was not included in meetings because she was the most junior member of the team and did not have much to contribute to the meetings.
She asked many questions and conceded that perhaps she could be more supportive and stop the negative body language. HR had called in the two parties in an earlier attempt to resolve the issues, but it appeared that the parties were not entirely honest and forthcoming about the situation.
This commonly occurs when a power imbalance exists between the parties, and there is a fear that revealing the truth would not be productive in any way and may impact their career negatively. I was called in by the organisation, as an external mediator, after this situation had been going on for a few months to conduct a mediation in order to attempt to restore the parties working relationship.
After meeting the parties separately to get their perspectives on the situation, I had to question whether mediation would be appropriate in this case. I asked myself what the most likely outcome would be.
The motives of Party A, I believed, were in question. While she had acknowledged that she might have engaged in some negative body language, her narrative remained that B was a junior member of the team not privy to invitations to attend meetings that the others attended. She was likely therefore to be further disempowered and unlikely to reach a successful outcome because of a lack of ability to negotiate with A.
The situation had also been going on for months which had only escalated the bullying. The goal is primarily to resolve a conflict between parties in dispute with the aim of restoring their working relationship. Both parties must be willing to compromise and to engage in forward-looking dialogue to put the past behind them, draw a line in the sand and move on.
The question turns to whether the bully will be authentic in wanting to achieve this goal rather than view the mediation as an opportunity to manipulate the victim further. Dorothy has a wealth of experience tackling bullying issues within Local Government, the NHS and third sector organisations.
She specialises in bullying mediation, team development and neutral assessments. Ian has been working with CMP since , and has conducted hundreds of mediations, many for bullying issues, across a range of sectors.
Also a teacher and saxophonist, Ian also conducts neutral assessments and team interventions. Despite new workplace strategies focusing on soft skills, emotional intelligence and early resolution, bullying unfortunately remains an issue. Recent reports suggest that up to a third of UK employees have been subject to bullying behaviours and many more impacted by having witnessed it.
Bullied staff tend to have poorer mental health, higher sickness absence rates, reduced productivity and are much more likely to leave your organisation. Not only is this the case, but employees are fearful of speaking up or making a complaint due to embarrassment or the worry of making things worse.
Many employees do not report bullying as they cannot imagine a positive resolution. This is where mediation can help. An effective bullying mediation process can return the situation to one of balance and understanding, to create an equal environment between a vulnerable employee and dominant manager without resorting to blame.
There is a fine line between a robust approach to management and bullying behaviours. The bullying mediation process allows each party to voice their concerns, feel heard, and empathised with. The mediator will help unravel the causes of the harmful behaviour, while working towards actionable agreements for all to work on.
Internal staff are very often busy with other functions, so can find it difficult to allocate the required amount of time to successfully intervene. Thanks to our large pool of bullying mediators, we can offer the quickest possible response.
We stand out from our competition in that we deliver the interactive model of mediation. Other providers simply focus on developing actionable solutions. Our process facilitates communication on the needs-based level between parties, to enable an increased understanding, in order to rebuild the working relationship.
When issues of bullying present within a team, the wider group tend to take a view, form alliances and possibly get involved.
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