27th March 2009:

During February 2009, the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) election for members of the 2009-2011 Board took place. The Civil Mediation Council is an unincorporated association of Members established in April 2003 by the United Kingdom’s mediation providers, independent mediators, leading academic, legal professional bodies and government departments. As part of this process, Globis Ltd was elected to the CMC Board. Clive Lewis, Founder and Managing Director of Globis,  said ” I am honoured that our colleagues have voted for Globis to form part of the CMC Board at such an exciting stage in the development of mediation in the UK”.

CMC Chair, Sir Henry Brooke, said “Mediation is now an increasingly important way of resolving workplace disputes. I am therefore delighted to welcome Clive Lewis and Globis Ltd to the CMC Board. They will lead for us on workplace matters”. For more information on the work of the CMC, please click here www.civilmediation.org.

Notes for editors:

• Following the 2007 Gibbons Review, action has been taken to repeal the 2004 Statutory Grievance and Discipline process from 6th April 2009. Employers will now be encouraged to pursue early resolution of workplace disputes, thereby avoiding recourse to employment tribunals.
• Latest research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) indicates that the cost of conflict at work to the UK economy is £24bn per year. In some cases, line managers are spending around 20% of their time managing issues associated with conflict.
• The CMC workplace mediation provider registration scheme will be the main source for users of employment related mediation services to access bona-fide reputable mediation providers across Great Britain.

The National Employment and Workplace Mediation Certificate is our flagship course and the UK’s benchmark for employment and workplace mediation training.  During 2009 we will train over 500 people to become accredited mediators. To view more information and to book a place on our December course please click here: http://www.globis.co.uk/services/ld-empandworkplacemediationcertificate.php

This course is also available on an in-house basis, subject to a minimum of 4 delegates attending. Please contact us for more informaion about our in-house courses.

18 June 2009: Clive Lewis, Founder and MD of Globis has just returned from speaking at an International Mediation Conference in Algeria. The conference was attended by around 400 members of the Algerian judiciary and legal profession. The Ministry of Justice in Algeria is embarking on a major launch of mediation. Britain has a worldwide reputation for being one of the leaders in the field of establishing good practice mediation principles. Clive Lewis was invited by the Algerian government to present on ‘Workplace Mediation – The British Perspective’. The other presenter from Britain was a Judge who spoke about how Court Based mediation is being adopted for civil disputes.  

Other experts were invited from France, Lebanon, Switzerland, Morocco and Spain.

Clive Lewis spoke about the background to the legislative changes of April 6^th 2009. He also spoke about the compelling business case that is convincing organisations across Britain to embrace the principles of mediation. Other topics covered at the conference included:

·         The legal and regulatory framework of mediation in

·         A sociological and historical approach to mediation

·         Mediation in European Common Law, principles and ethics

·         The role of the lawyer in the promotion of mediation

·         Training and specialisation of the mediator

·         Mediation in intellectual property disputes

Jack Fallow, Globis Director said ” I am delighted that Clive was invited to Algeria to talk about the exciting developments in the field of mediation in Britain. It is great news that countries such as Algeria turn to Britain for advice and guidance on implementing good practice mediation principles”.

The British Ambassador to Algeria, Andrew Henderson, also attended the conference.

The Definitive Guide to Workplace Mediation

15 July 2009: The widely-acclaimed Definitive Guide to Workplace Mediation and Managing Conflict at Work, written by Clive Lewis continues to be a sought after book. Last week, a large order for the book came in from South Africa. The book has also been ordered by practitioners in America, Germany and the Isle of Man.

Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE , International Director of Diversity and Citizenship at KPMG says “This book is timely. As organisations look for opportunities to save money and build trust, this book offers great advice”.

 

Alison Brimelow, President of the European Patent Office says: “This book is an excellent guide: ground in reality. Understanding that mediation and conflict resolution are effective techniques can be learned the hard way or with help like this. I wish it had been available earlier in my career”.

In the UK, copies of the book have also been purchased by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The book is available in the Departments resource centre as a reference guide that can be accessed by the Departments staff.

 To order your copy of the book, please click here:

Workplaces are changing. Strategies for building relationships and preventing conflict at work are gaining importance.

23 July 2009: An article entitled ‘How to solve workplace disputes’ is being featured on the IOD’s website. Written by Clive Lewis, the article highlights the importance for businesses to take the issue of conflict management and mediation seriously. 

To view the article, please click here

(This link will take you directly to the Institute of Directors website).

8th March: The next Globis webinar is scheduled for 10.00am on 25th March 2010. The webinar will look at the role that mediation can play in UK places of work and will include presentations from the CIPD and EEF. To register, please click here:

8 March 2010: At long last, an agreement has been reached to settle the long-running dispute over working conditions at Royal Mail. To view the complete story please click here:

Download the Talking it Over article by Clive Lewis (PDF)

>> Download Globis Newsletter February 2010 – PDF

28 February 2010

In October 2010, the Equality Bill is scheduled to become law in the UK. It’ s the biggest single biggest piece of employment legislation that the UK will face this year. The Bill is designed to ensure that everybody is adequately protected against discrimination.

 A socio-economic duty to reduce inequality

The Bill will consolidate existing legislation on sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age. If not followed or prepared for properly, it could result in significant costs for organisations. The Equalities Office is estimating that its implementation is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £310million mainly as a result of extra tribunal and court cases.

Speaking of a link to bullying and harassment, and the events of the last week, the focus of the new Bill will be on ‘preventing unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a persons’ dignity or creating a hostile environment’. The emphasis is on the concept of prevention and the steps an organisation takes to help prevention. Organisations will be compelled to recognise their socio-economic duty to reduce inequality.

The Bill will include a new term of ‘protected characteristic’ – a protected characteristic being sex, race, age, and religious belief etc. Conduct which is ‘related to’ a protected characteristic will be also be covered. For example it will protect an employee from being harassed because of their association with someone – such as having a relative who is a homosexual or of a certain race.

The Bill is also designed to increase transparency about pay. Organisations in the private sector with more than 250 employees will be required to publish information on differences in pay between male and female employees (from 2013). The public sector will be required to publish pay gap reports too. The public sector will also be forced to consider equality when deciding on purchasing or outsourcing.

In recruitment, an employer will be able to take a ‘protected characteristic’ into account. For example, where a male and female applicant are considered as having equal skills and experience, the female could be appointed where there is female under representation. This is in effect, positive action.

Employment tribunals will have new powers to make recommendations that will have to be applied to the whole workforce. For example, if a former employee wins a case for being discriminated against, the organisation could be ordered to provide training in equality and diversity management for all managers.

The Bill is far reaching. Even the Pope has had something to say about it!

What can you do now?

• Ensure your equality and diversity policies are compliant – carry out Equality Impact Assessments
• Deliver staff briefing sessions on the changing legislation
• Deliver one day courses on ‘Equality & Diversity – how to manage difference’
• Run training sessions on the prevention of bullying and harassment
• Deliver training sessions on managing difficult conversations
• Set up an in-house mediation scheme

For more information about the Equality Bill visit:

Government Equalities Office

Equalities and Human Rights Commission

Houses of Parliament

Clive Lewis

Director – Globis

2 February 2010: News Release

On 26/27 January 2010 Globis ran its first Workplace Mediation Conversion Course for civil and commercial mediators. The groundbreaking course has received excellent reviews. There is an ongoing debate in the mediation industry about whether there are any differences in mediating civil/commercial and workplace disputes. Delegates attending the course seemed to think so.

Antony Sendall of Littleton Chambers said “I found the Globis Workplace Mediation Conversion Course both very valuable and highly stimulating. I especially enjoyed the way in which the learning was achieved primarily through dialogue and discussion. The group size was perfectly balanced as it was large enough to result in a diverse range of backgrounds and experience, yet small enough to give everyone sufficient time to say their piece, to exchange thoughts and experiences and to play an active part in the role play scenarios. Despite being an employment lawyer already, I learned a lot and now feel much better equipped to conduct effective workplace mediations”.

Immediately after announcing the course, Globis was contacted with enquiries from civil/commercial mediators who have an interest in adding workplace mediation to their portfolio. The 2 day course, held at the International Dispute Resolution Centre, Fleet Street, London, deals with both the theory and practical aspects of workplace related disputes, looking at key themes such as:

• The 7 step commissioning process
• Understanding key phrases and terms used in workplace disputes
• How to draft a workplace related settlement agreement
• How to follow up after mediation workplace disputes, and
• Providing delegates with an opportunity to practice workplace mediation skills by using real-life case studies
• How to calculate the cost of conflict for an organisation

Jack Fallow, Globis Director said “I am delighted that the first course has been such a great success. We thought long and hard about the design for the programme and it seems that we struck the right balance”.

Due to the continuing demand for the course, new dates have now been added for March. For more details click here:

  Note to Editors:

• Globis director, Clive Lewis is the author of ‘The Definitive Guide to Workplace Mediation’
• Globis is a Board member of the Civil Mediation Council
• A new ACAS Code of practice introducing the concept mediation for the first time was introduced in April 2009
• Globis recently trained 16 mediators at East Sussex County Council leading to the implementation of an in-house mediation scheme which has delivered cost savings of just under £1million in just over one year. East Sussex County Council was on the short list for the CIPD 2009 awards for the introduction of the scheme.

31 January 2010: Recent research indicates that Monday February 1st is likely to be a popular day for throwing a ’sickie’ – pretending to be too ill to go into work. To see the BBC news item click here:

Globis helps many organisations reduce absenteeism and increase presenteeism.  To subscribe for the Globis webinar on sickness and well-being on February 25th,  click here:  

14 January 2010: Today, Lord Justice Jackson published the final report of his review of civil litigation costs.

For copies of the report please click here:

For a brief summary of the report please click here:

8 January 2010: The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have reviewed ‘The Definitive Guide to Workplace Mediation’ written by Globis MD, Clive Lewis.

The book review states

The Business Case for conflict management is clearly set out and would be a useful background in seeking to convince those considering commissioning mediation (management or HR functions).

For more of the book review, click here: Clive Lewis RICS  Book Review

11 November 2009: One of the most exciting developments in the mediation world during 2009 has been the emergence of workplace mediation. Helped by the Gibbons review and the introduction of the news ACAS Code of Practice, employers and lawyers are commissioning more mediation. Globis was one of the organisations invited to advise the Gibbons panel during the review. Globis MD, Clive Lewis, is author of the widely-acclaimed “The Definitive Guide to Workplace Mediation”.

Globis has seen a sharp increase in the number of civil/commercial trained mediators who want to add workplace and employment related mediation to their portfolio. So much so, that they have launched a Workplace Mediation Conversion Course specifically tailored for this group.

The 2 day course will deal with both the theory and the practical aspects of workplace related disputes, looking at key things such as:

• The 7 step commissioning process,
• Understanding key phrases and terms used in workplace disputes,
• How to draft a workplace related settlement agreement,
• How to follow up after mediation workplace disputes, and
• Providing delegates with an opportunity to practice workplace mediation skills by using real-life case studies.

The first course kicks off on 26^th – 27^th January 2010 and will be held at the IDRC, Fleet Street, London. Spaces are likely to be filled quickly.

The business case suggests that conflict in the workplace is costing UK employers £24bn per year. With 2010 likely to bring tighter budgets to most organisations, mediation represents a cost effective alternative to an ongoing workplace dispute or going to tribunal. The indications are that there will be a continued soar in the number of organisations referring case to mediation.

This course attracts Law Society and Bar Standards Board CPD points.

For more information about the course and to book a place, please click here.

Note to Editors:

• Globis is one of the UK’s leading providers of workplace mediation services.
• Globis founder and director, Clive Lewis is the Author of ‘The Definitive Guide to Mediation at Work’.
• A new ACAS code of practice introducing mediation for the first time was introduced in April 2009.
• Globis recently trained 16 mediators at East Sussex County Council leading to the implementation of an in-house mediation scheme which has delivered cost savings of £500,000 in one year. East Sussex County Council is on the short list for the CIPD 2009 awards for the introduction of the scheme.