CALL: 1300 414 179

Frequently Asked Questions

To view an answer, simply click on the relevant question.
If your question has not been answered, please feel free to contact us and one of our staff will be happy to assist.

We are the only national mediation company that you can rely on to provide a consistent service that will support both the employee and employer to get the best results.

A support person should be chosen based on their capacity to follow the process (keep confidentiality and allow you to speak) and whether or not they are able to assist. Think to yourself – ‘will this person assist us get an agreement or will this person be a barrier to getting agreement?’. If it is the later, choose someone else or alternatively, have them available by telephone if you need to break, you can call them.

Workplace mediation is where a mediator facilitates a conversation between two or more employees.

Generally no, unless special circumstances exist, negotiate with your mediator. They can ask questions about the process and we can stop the mediation for a break if you need to consult with them.

You can ask employees to attend a mediation. If an employee refuses, you must assess the reason for their non-participation. If you think it is unreasonable, and they continue to refuse, then you can initiate a more formal process to manage the issues at hand, such as performance management.

Yes, but it is not recommended unless there are special circumstances requiring their attendance. Negotiate this with the mediator. This is because mediation is an informal attempt at de-escalating and resolving the conflict. Adding extra people has the impact of making matters escalate (at times). In addition to this, the intention is that you are working toward working together and that third party won’t be in the workplace with you. If you want to bring a support person, they must not be a direct report or a team member. The support person ideally is someone external to the organisation such as a family member, friend, advocate, union representative or counsellor. The other participant must also agree to their attendance.

No. However, if you refuse to work with a person or a team and you refuse mediation, then the only other option available to the employer may be disciplinary action or performance management.

Managing an escalating claim is more expensive. Using a trained mediator is an investment with immediate and long-term benefits, call us to find out why (or google ‘the cost of conflict in the workplace’ and compare for yourself).

Ask them, what accreditation do they have, how many workplace mediations have they done, what support can the employer expect from the mediator, whether they are familiar with the industrial relations laws that apply to your company, what process they use, and what outcomes you can expect, and then choose a mediator that you think best suits your company.

You can have a mediation at any time. For example, you can have a workplace mediation prior to initiating a formal complaint or you can have a workplace mediation after a formal intervention (such as an investigation). You can also have mediation where you just want the employees to have a trained facilitator to help them remain focused and achieve outcomes.

No. Untrained people can at best: unintentionally escalate the matter and / or become embroiled in the conflict, and at worst put staff at risk, themselves at risk of a claim, attract a complaint by one or both parties against them.

Yes.  Definitely.  We recommend that the support person is not a team member.  It can be a family member, a friend, a counsellor but just not someone who might be compromised by participating.  A support person is for your emotional health and well-being and does not generally attend as an advocate for the participant. 

Yes, if the other participant agrees to that support person being there.  Other options include, having the support person there, but in a different room.  And, or, having the support person available by phone.  Each participant can ask for a break if they need to at any time during the process.  And, if it is not working either participant and / or the mediator can terminate the mediation at any time.

Yes, both parties need to consent to any person being present in their mediation.  It works both ways.  Sometimes each party wants to bring a support person, and as long as both parties agree, then they are most welcome.  Support people are not invited to participate, but we can stop for breaks if they need to speak to the person they are supporting.  Support people need to comply with the same rules as the participants, including maintaining confidentiality.