When\nworking in close proximity with others on a daily basis, disagreements and\ndisputes are expected to come up. Naturally, people with different personalities\nand different backgrounds will have different ways of handling situations.\nDisputes usually occur when one or more people fail to come to an acceptable agreement\non a matter. In some cases these conflicts are one-time occurrences and resolve\nthemselves however, in other situations intervention is required to prevent the\nsituation from escalating. Every employer has a duty to provide a clear, well\nwritten procedure on how to handle disputes. Generally, most companies will\nhave Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an option before turning to legal\nsolutions. This is because ADR is both cheaper and less time consuming. In this\narticle we\u2019ll look mediation as a mode of resolving office disputes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHAT IS MEDIATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mediation is the process where a third party i.e. a mediator,\nessentially, helps parties to settle their disputes by a process of discussion\nand narrowing differences. The mediator helps the parties to arrive at an\nagreed solution. In Kenya Mediation is provided for as a mode of dispute\nresolution under the Mediation Act of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVANTAGES\nOF MEDIATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the many advantages of mediation is the\nbenefit of confidentiality. Mediation is a confidential process. Mediators\ncannot disclose any information revealed during the mediation process.\nMediation is a private process and not subject to public knowledge and possible\nmedia attention as can be the case with civil litigation. This way matters can\nbe handled privately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mediation is a quick and inexpensive method of\ndispute resolution. Mediation generally takes less time to complete, allowing\nparties to find a solution sooner than going to court. This saves the company\u2019s\nresources and time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many disputes occur in the context of ongoing work\nrelationships due to various infringements of employees\u2019 rights. Mediation provides an avenue to address all\nparties\u2019 interests while also preserving working relationships in ways that\nwould not be possible in a win\/lose decision-making procedure i.e. in court\nproceedings. Mediation can also make the termination of a work relationship\nmore amicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mediation gives parties autonomy over their\nnegotiation process. Parties who negotiate their own settlements have more\ncontrol over the outcome of their dispute. Parties have an equal say in the\nprocess. There is no determination of fault, but rather, the parties reach a\nmutually agreeable resolution to their conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In court litigation or arbitration, the outcome of a case is determined by the facts of the dispute and the applicable law. In a mediation, the parties can also be guided by their interests. As such, the parties are free to choose an outcome that is oriented as much to the future of their relationship as to their past conduct. When the parties refer to their interests and engage in dialogue, mediation often results in a settlement that creates more value than would have been created if the underlying dispute had not occurred. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a company it is important to have an established mode of dispute resolution that can be turned to before things escalate and parties end up in court. Should you like to explore your options, the Kenyan Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Dispute Resolution Centre and Mediation Training Institute are currently the main bodies that offer <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When working in close proximity with others on a daily basis, disagreements and disputes are expected to come up. Naturally, people with different personalities and different backgrounds will have different ways of handling situations. Disputes usually occur when one or more people fail to come to an acceptable agreement on a matter. In some cases these conflicts are one-time occurrences and resolve themselves however, in other situations intervention is required to prevent the situation from escalating. Every employer has a duty to provide a clear, well written procedure on how to handle disputes. Generally, most companies will have Alternative Dispute\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":5}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5452,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5450\/revisions\/5452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}