England and Wales (T612)
| Published date | 21 March 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Employment tribunal forms and guidance |
Judicial Mediation
Employment Tribunals (England and Wales)
Judicial mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The Employment
Tribunals offer a judicial mediation scheme which started as a pilot in 2006, and
is now available throughout England and Wales. Over 65% of cases mediated
reach a successful settlement on the day of mediation. Most cases that do not
succeed on the day of the mediation are settled before the hearing as a result of
the impetus created by the judicial mediation.
Judicial mediation involves bringing the parties together for a mediation at a
private preliminary hearing before a trained Employment Judge who remains
neutral and tries to assist the parties in resolving their disputes, which may
include remedies which would not be available at a hearing before an
Employment Tribunal (e.g. a reference).
Suitable cases are identified, as part of the normal tribunal process, by an
Employment Judge at a preliminary hearing at which the Employment Judge
advises the parties of the possibility of an offer of judicial mediation. If both
parties agree, the Regional Employment Judge considers the file and decides
whether to make an offer of judicial mediation, depending upon resource
constraints and the suitability of the issues for mediation. Parties are notified if an
offer cannot be made.
An offer of judicial mediation is made by a telephone preliminary hearing, when a
date is set for the judicial mediation and any consequential variations to existing
orders are made.
The judicial mediation is confidential and held in private. Nothing said or taking
place at the judicial mediation may be referred to at any subsequent hearing and
the Employment Judge mediating is precluded from any further involvement in
the case.
Judicial mediation is an alternative to a tribunal hearing but not an alternative to
ACAS conciliation. Although ACAS and the tribunal judiciary collaborate in
relation to judicial mediation, the statutory duty placed on ACAS is not
compromised by the process and ACAS maintains its independence.
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