Conciliation in the workplace

In respect of the in-house grievance or disciplinary dispute process, most workplace policies say;

‘During the formal stage of a Grievance or Disciplinary procedure the employee will have the right to be accompanied by a workplace colleague or trade union official’

Let us be clear, the ACAS Conciliation Explained document does not say your employer must allow someone other than a colleague or trade union official accompany you at meetings. However, an employee can reasonably ask their employer to recognise their chosen nominated representative, and allow that person in to meetings. An employee is advised to put this request in writing.

• This is a reasonable request. Ultimately, the decision will rest with the employer though.
  
  
• A reasonable employer will allow an employee to decide who their nominated representative is and they would respect that choice.
  
  
• A reasonable employer will show flexibility.
  
  
• A reasonable employer should not refuse to engage with an employee’s nominated representative in subsequent conciliation talks, especially if in-house procedures have been exhausted and the employee in question wanted to explore alternative dispute resolution processes, such as a without prejudice settlement agreement approach.
  
  
• A reasonable employer would not refuse to engage with an employee’s nominated representative where it is clear from the outset that the working relationship has broken down and the two (employee and employer) wish to part company amicably on a no blame basis.

This is good news for any employee who is not a member of a Union.

It is also good news for the employee who feels that their Union Representative is in a conflict of interest (ie: working for the same employer), and/or is struggling to achieve a positive outcome for both the employee and the employer.

If you are unable to resolve your dispute with your employer through the in-house grievance or disciplinary processes (Stages 1 & 2) or if at any time during that process you want to engage in conciliation, typically a Without Prejudice process (ie: off the record talks) you can instruct someone who specialises in Conflict Resolution and conciliation services to handle that for you.

That person does not have to be a Union Representative.

Further, if an employee loses confidence in a Union, they can ‘at any time’ seek a second opinion from a nominated person who specialises in this specialist area of work and that may be a firm who specialises in conciliation services – such as Settlement Agreement services. For further information about the Conciliation process, see ‘Conciliation Explained’ a document found on the ACAS website.