It can be used before, during or after formal workplace procedures and can be adapted for disputes involving individuals, teams, departments, senior executives and wider groups.

When can Workplace Mediation help?

Workplace conflict rarely fits neatly into a single category. It may begin with a particular incident but develop into a breakdown of trust, communication or working relationships. Mediation can be particularly useful where the people involved need to continue working together and where simply deciding who was right about a past event is unlikely, by itself, to solve the underlying problem.

Mediation Rescue works with conflicts involving colleagues, managers and employees, senior leadership teams, boards, founders and executives, teams and departments. Our mediators have experience of many different kinds of disputes including allegations of bullying, discrimination and victimisation, whistleblowing, dismissals, industrial relations issues, redundancy, terms and conditions, organisational change and difficult working relationships.

Recent instructions have also included a series of interventions involving whole teams in conflict, either internally or in their relationships with management. These situations may require a process involving individual conversations, mediation, facilitated group discussions, conflict coaching or a combination of approaches.

A process designed around the conflict

We do not assume that every dispute needs the same mediation process. We build the process around the conflict and the people involved.

That may mean a conventional mediation between two people. In a more complex case it might involve several participants, separate preparatory meetings, co-mediation, facilitated conversations, conflict coaching or wider team discussions. The important question is not what label should be attached to the process, but what form of intervention gives the people involved the best opportunity to understand what has happened and find a workable way forward.

How does Workplace Mediation work?

We normally begin with a discussion with the organisation to understand the situation, the people involved and what a useful process might look like. We then speak privately with the participants before any joint discussion. These pre-mediation conversations allow each person to explain what has happened, consider what they need from the process and prepare for a constructive conversation.

Where a joint meeting is appropriate, the mediator or mediators create a structure in which the participants can speak openly, listen to one another and explore what needs to change. The mediator does not decide who is right, make findings or impose an outcome. The participants retain responsibility for any agreement they reach.

For some conflicts, one joint meeting may be enough. Others need a more flexible sequence of conversations or follow-up work. We adapt the process rather than forcing every dispute into the same format.

Why Mediation Rescue often uses two mediators

Co-mediation is one of the features that most clearly distinguishes the Mediation Rescue approach. Alan Dillon, Sue Granshaw and Antony Sendall all have extensive experience of co-mediating complex disputes.

Two mediators bring two pairs of eyes and ears to the same situation. No two mediators have exactly the same experience, instincts or mediation style. Working together therefore broadens the perspective available to the mediation and makes it more likely that different nuances, dynamics and concerns will be noticed.

Co-mediation also changes the feel of the conversation. A single mediator can sometimes be perceived, however unintentionally, as the person presiding over the process. Two mediators create a different dynamic. The interaction can feel richer and more conversational, and less like the participants are being led or judged by a single authority figure.

It also gives us greater flexibility when assembling the mediation team. Depending on the dispute and the participants, it may be helpful to combine mediators of different genders, ages, racial or cultural backgrounds, professional experience or other characteristics. The purpose is not to assume that identity determines viewpoint, but to create a mediation team capable of bringing a useful balance of perspectives to a sensitive or complex situation.

Two mediators, one fee. Where Mediation Rescue provides co-mediation as part of our normal service, the mediation fee is not increased simply because two mediators are involved. We sometimes describe it, with a little licence, as our “buy one, get one free” approach to mediation.

There may be cases requiring a different fee arrangement because of their scale, duration, travel or other unusual requirements. Any fee would be agreed in advance.

Co-mediating with your internal mediator

We can also co-mediate with an organisation’s own internal mediator. This can offer an unusual combination of strengths: the internal mediator brings intimate knowledge of the organisation, its culture and context, while the external mediator brings independence and experience gained from working across other organisations and disputes.

It can also be a valuable way of developing an internal mediator’s practical skills. Not all internal mediators get enough experience of mediation to feel confident in their skills. Mediating alongside a more experienced independent mediator can be an enormous benefit. Sue Granshaw has worked alongside in-house mediators and designed and delivered mediator training for a number of large organisations, including a large retail chain. She also provides mentoring to new in-house mediators. By offering this kind of co-mediation opportunity, Mediation Rescue can combine external support with the development of an organisation’s own conflict-resolution capability.

Team, multi-party and organisational conflict

Not every workplace conflict is between two people. Sometimes the effects have spread across a team or department, or the conflict is between a group of employees and management. In those circumstances, simply mediating between two nominated individuals may leave much of the real problem untouched.

Our experience of workplace, community and co-mediation gives us considerable flexibility in these situations. We can speak with participants individually, identify the different relationships and perspectives involved, and design a process that may include smaller mediations, larger facilitated conversations or work with the whole group. We are also able to offer conflict coaching in circumstances where one or more parties is not prepared to engage with the mediation process.

The objective is to understand the system of relationships around the conflict, not merely the most visible disagreement.

Mediation or grievance?

For many workplace relationship problems, Mediation Rescue believes that a formal grievance should not be the default first response. Mediation, a facilitated conversation or another appropriate form of early resolution should ordinarily be considered first.

A grievance starts by asking an employer to investigate allegations, establish facts and decide whether a complaint is upheld. Sometimes that is necessary. But where the real problem is a damaged working relationship, it can start in the wrong place. The central question is often not simply “Who was right and who was wrong?”, but “What needs to be different if these people are going to work together successfully in future?”

Formal grievance procedures can encourage people to assemble evidence, defend positions and focus increasingly on past events. Even where the employer conducts the process impeccably, a finding on the allegations does not necessarily repair trust, restore communication or resolve the underlying conflict. A grievance can therefore finish with a decision while leaving the workplace problem substantially untouched.

That does not mean formal procedures have no place. Serious misconduct, safeguarding issues, regulatory obligations, statutory rights or allegations requiring an authoritative factual determination may need investigation and a formal decision. The point is that formal grievance should be a deliberate choice because the circumstances require adjudication, rather than the automatic organisational response whenever somebody raises a workplace concern.

This approach is increasingly reflected in Acas policy. In July 2026, Acas published a draft revised Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures for consultation. Its stated purpose includes promoting better early resolution of workplace concerns. The draft says that employers and workers should aim to resolve concerns early and prevent unnecessary escalation; says worker concerns are usually best dealt with informally; expressly identifies mediation and facilitated conversations as possible routes to resolution; and provides that, where mediation or a facilitated conversation is agreed during a formal procedure, the formal process should be paused.

The consultation closed on 23 September 2026 and Acas is reviewing responses. The draft may change and is not the Code currently in force. But its direction is significant: early and informal resolution is being moved from the margins of the grievance framework towards the centre of good workplace conflict management.

Our starting question is therefore: before beginning a grievance investigation, is a formal determination actually what this situation needs? If the underlying problem is a working relationship, communication breakdown, loss of trust or interpersonal conflict, mediation or a facilitated conversation may offer a much better opportunity to resolve the problem rather than merely process the complaint.

When might Workplace Mediation not be appropriate?

Mediation is not a substitute for every management or legal process. An organisation may need to investigate serious allegations, address safeguarding concerns, meet regulatory duties or take urgent action. Participation also needs to be sufficiently voluntary and workable for a genuine conversation to take place.

Sometimes the better answer is to mediate only part of a wider dispute, postpone mediation until another process has taken place, or use conflict coaching or a facilitated conversation instead. We are happy to discuss the circumstances before anyone commits to a particular process.

Why use an external workplace mediator?

An external mediator can bring independence to a conflict that has become difficult for an organisation to manage internally. That can be particularly important where the dispute involves senior individuals, relates to very sensitive issues, has become deeply entrenched, or where reporting lines and organisational relationships make perceived neutrality important.

Mediation Rescue was founded in 2016 by mediators whose professional backgrounds span employment law, HR, recruitment, business and organisational conflict. Alan Dillon, Sue Granshaw and Antony Sendall are all accredited Workplace and Community Mediators. Antony and Alan are also accredited Civil & Commercial Mediators.

That breadth matters. Workplace conflict can contain legal, commercial, organisational and deeply personal dimensions at the same time. Experience across different mediation models gives our mediators a wider range of ways to help people move a difficult conversation forward.

Senior, executive and board-level conflict

Conflict involving senior executives, boards, founders or other organisational leaders can have consequences well beyond the individuals directly involved. It can affect decision-making, retention, culture, teams and the wider organisation.

These disputes often benefit from careful preparation and a process designed around the particular relationships and commercial context rather than a standard meeting format. Mediation Rescue can work with senior participants individually, in co-mediation and through wider facilitated processes where the effects of the conflict have spread beyond the original parties.

Frequently asked questions

Is Workplace Mediation confidential?

Confidentiality is a central feature of mediation. The precise arrangements, including what may be reported back to the organisation, should be agreed before the process begins and should be kept under constant review throughout the process.

Is Workplace Mediation voluntary?

Mediation depends on participants being willing to engage. An employer can strongly encourage people to consider mediation and explain why it may help, but the mediator cannot force them to participate and cannot impose an outcome.

Can mediation happen after a grievance?

Yes. A grievance outcome may determine particular allegations without repairing the working relationship. Mediation can then focus on how the people involved will work together in future. However, it is usually better to explore mediation before a grievance is commenced.

Can Workplace Mediation involve a whole team?

Yes. Team and multi-party conflicts often require a more flexible process than a conventional two-person mediation. We can combine individual meetings, smaller mediations and facilitated group conversations according to what the situation requires.

Why would we use two mediators?

Two mediators bring two pairs of eyes and ears, different experience and different mediation styles. They can create a richer conversational dynamic and provide greater flexibility in the composition of the mediation team.

Does having two mediators cost twice as much?

No. Where Mediation Rescue provides co-mediation as part of our normal service, we do not increase the mediation fee simply because two mediators are involved.

Can one of our own mediators work with Mediation Rescue?

Yes. An internal mediator can co-mediate with one of our external mediators, combining knowledge of the organisation with external independence and giving the internal mediator valuable experience alongside an experienced practitioner.

Can mediation be conducted online?

Yes. We can conduct Workplace Mediation in person or online and can even design a hybrid process where appropriate. Mediation is a very flexible process and can be adapted to meet the circumstances of the case and the needs of the parties.

Discuss a workplace conflict with us

If you are deciding whether mediation, co-mediation, a facilitated conversation or conflict coaching would be the most useful next step, contact Mediation Rescue for an initial discussion. We can help you think through the situation and design an appropriate process before you decide how to proceed.