Effective Workplace Dispute Mediation Services

Issues in your office? Get in touch with the reliable team at O’Sullivan Mediation handle your employment dispute resolution needs!

What is work dispute mediation?

Employment dispute resolution is a process that involves two or more parties communicating in a way that leads to a peaceful solution. Conflict can arise through a variety of ways in a conventional business, often occurring between co-workers, supervisors and subordinates, and between clients and customers. An honest and balanced work dispute mediation process is required to ensure that all employees are treated with an equal level of respect and consideration.

What are the typical signs of work conflict?

There are various forms of conflict and disagreement in the Australian workforce. Performance reviews can lead to conflict and tension, especially if an employee receives a negative review that they perceive as unsatisfactory or unsubstantiated. Managers abusing their power or administering unreasonable instructions can also be a source of conflict.

Forms of discrimination, such as racism, ageism and sexism, are often the product, cause or symptom of business conflict between co-workers and staff members. Bullying in the workplace should be treated as a serious offence, and as a result, mediation designed to eradicate bullying in the workplace should be pursued. Get in touch with a reliable law firm, like O’Sullivan Mediation, to help you address any industrial relations matters.

How is it regulated?

Conflict in businesses or an office environment is regulated by the Fair Work Act 2009, which was introduced by the Rudd Government following their election victory. The new legal framework was introduced to restructure Australia’s industrial relations system, specifically the Howard Government’s WorkChoices reform, which was a highly contentious piece of legislation. Some vocal critics saw it as damaging to employee rights.

Fair Work mediation: best practice

Effective Fair Work mediation is a crucial aspect to any business. It can help employers in a variety of ways, especially in terms of dealing with business-related conflict or disagreements before they become more serious concerns. Moreover, effective employment dispute resolution processes focus on resolving concerns at the workplace level, which can help avoid the massive costs associated with dealing with an external claim. For example, an employee may take their case to the FWC and go through binding arbitration, or they may go through the Federal Court of Australia, which would involve litigation services.

The process of employment dispute resolution

Typically, the process will follow these steps:

Step 1: Problem recognition

Before anything can be done to fix the conflict in place, all parties need to recognise that a problem exists and needs to be resolved.

Step 2: Mutual agreement

Secondly, all parties involved need to agree on the specifics of the issue and find some common ground. This involves understanding all perspectives involved.

Step 3: Identify unwanted behaviours

Following this, the human resources manager or industrial representative needs to determine which workplace behaviours have triggered the episodes of conflict.

Step 4: Formal discussions

During this step, HR representatives will have formal discussions with all parties involved, with the distinct purpose of reaching a compromise.

Step 5: Monitoring changes

Once an agreement has been made, it’s important for the mediator to monitor the conduct of all members afterwards. Any employees that resist efforts to defuse conflict, or instead choose to encourage conflict, will face disciplinary action (e.g. termination).

Why you need O’Sullivan Mediation

If you want to ensure that your business is a harmonious and productive place to work, you must respect different employee perspectives, values and beliefs. O’Sullivan Mediation is an impressive, reliable and considerate legal firm that can assist business managers with bullying in the workplace mediation.

Extensive experience

At the end of the day, you want a solicitor that has experience in industrial relations law; someone who knows Australia’s discrimination laws inside and out.

History of success

You don’t just want any lawyer – you want someone that has a history of successful cases. You want your employment dispute resolution to run smoothly and having a high-quality, professional lawyer to assist with the process is a crucial part of this.

Honest and reliable

As a legal firm, we understand the importance of clear, honest and transparent communication. You’ll never be in the dark when discussing legal matters with us, nor will you ever feel lost or confused.

Do you think you could benefit from effective workplace dispute mediation services? Get in touch with O’Sullivan Mediation as soon as possible!