Lessons must be learnt from workplace disputes

Published by Danny Calogero for Fellows Associates in Central Government and also in Communities, Local Government

The resolution of workplace disputes should be seen as a learning exercise, says public interest enterprise Fellows’ Associates today.

In a response to the Department for Business Innovation and Skill’s consultation on resolving workplace disputes, the organisation suggests that there should be a shift away from adversarial toward inquisitorial dispute resolution. This would involve using the facts from the case to inform best practice and, in turn, reduce the need for future dispute resolution cases.

Fellows’ Associates also advocates in its response a greater use of alternative dispute resolution tools such as mediation to try and preserve the working relationship between employer and employee.

The consultation comes as the government seeks ways of reducing both the time and cost of workplace dispute resolution following a recent increase in demand.

Danny Calogero, Senior Policy Advisor, Fellows’ Associates, said today: “We welcome an approach which makes the system quicker and more cost effective, but this must be weighed against the need to ensure fairness and equity. We believe that the main way to reduce the number of cases is for organisations to learn from their experience and implement procedures which prevent cases from occurring again.”

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For more information
Fellows' Associates
Danny Calogero         +44(0)203 174 1016; +44(0)7534 189235 

Notes to Editors

1. Fellows’ Associates is the first reputation assurance company to be established in the public interest. It enables clients to build their reputation, communicate effectively with stakeholders and contribute to public policy. Fellows’ Associates works to enhance the relationship between business, government and the community, by finding mutually beneficial solutions to business and social problems.
2. For a copy of the full response go to http://www.fellowsassociates.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=33&cntnt01lang=en_US&cntnt01returnid=51