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“A company, regardless of its size, organisation and number of employees, is a place where interests converge but also diverge, creating a breeding ground for conflict.”
Mediation and arbitration: what is the difference?
Mediation is a voluntary process in which a third party, the mediator, helps the parties to find an amicable solution to their dispute but does not decide on the outcome. . He or she does not make the law. Through the use of different techniques, he or she guides the parties towards an amicable solution.
Arbitration is a private jurisdictional method that consists of submitting a dispute to one or three arbitrators (the arbitral tribunal) who settle the dispute definitively by delivering an award, as a judge would do. Comparable to a traditional court proceeding, arbitration differs in that it allows the parties to choose the judge(s) of their dispute on the basis of his or her/their competence and qualifications, as well as the applicable law and the language of the proceedings.
Many prevention and conflict management systems have been implemented within companies with the assistance of different actors: social workers, occupational doctors, labour inspectors, members of the Health and Safety Committee and Working Conditions Committee, members of the employee representatives Committee …
There are legitimate and specific procedures to protect employees (consultations, whistle blowing, internal surveys and investigation …). However, they will not always help improve employee relations. They may even crystallize the conflict which makes it more difficult to resolve.
Mediation generally promotes social dialogue and communication within companies.
It helps to break out of the traditional framework of opposition between the various players and to move towards win-win solutions for all participants
Intra-company mediation is characterised by:
Mediation can allow the re-establishment of a relationship, the resolution of an individual or collective conflict situation, the realization of a project, etc.
To prevent and manage interpersonal or collective disputes
To maintain or restore dialogue:
Between employees
Within a team
Between managers and employees
To prevent and fight psychosocial risks and discrimination
To provide a response to harassment claims and work-related distress
To solve pre-litigation or litigation before Labour Courts
All company stakeholders, likely to be affected by a dispute, such as:
HR executives and managers
Business Managers, executives, employees
Staff and employee representatives, Health and Safety Committees
In social matters, mediation can be usefully implemented:
For all types of individual disputes:
For all types of collective disputes: