9 October 2009:
News Release
Yesterday (8 October 2009), Sir Stuart Rose, Executive Chairman of Marks and Spencer, appeared on the panel of BBC Question Time. A member of the audience asked the panel a question about Anton de Beke’s recent comments. In case you have missed the commentary on the case here is a summary. Anton de Beke is a current contestant on the BBC Strictly Come Dancing TV show. There have been calls for de Beke to be sacked after it was claimed that he called his partner Laila Rouass a “Paki”. A statement was issued saying that “The BBC does not condone offensive language in the workplace. Anton de Beke has apologised unreservedly to Laila Rouass who has accepted his apology. The BBC has received hundreds of complaints.
Sir Stuart Rose spoke about the many difficulties faced by organisations to manage relationships in the workplace. He went on to say that mediation is a useful tool to help solve workplace disputes. Sir Stuart is one of the UK’s most trusted, admired and respected business leaders. His comments will be of huge benefit to the industry where the business case for mediation is not yet fully recognised.
Globis has been one of the UK’s leading mediation providers to promote the business case for mediation. Conflict costs the UK in excess of £24bn per year. In many cases, line managers are spending 20% of their time managing issues associated with conflict.
Globis founder and director, Clive Lewis said “I welcome Sir Stuart Rose’s comments. Those in the mediation industry can talk about its benefits, but when a leading business man such as Sir Stuart Rose refers to mediation in such a positive way, it adds weight. Hopefully workplaces across the UK will respond to Sir Stuart Rose’s comments by beginning or increasing the use of mediation”.
Ends:
9 October 2009
Note to Editors:
- Globis is one of the UK’s leading providers of workplace mediation services
- Globis founder and director, Clive Lewis is a Board member of the Civil Mediation Council and 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.
For more information please call Clive Lewis or Jack Fallow on 0800 345 7703
