While our associates comprise legal experts, our service is different from the traditional solicitors practice. Our aim is to not just resolve conflict in your workplace but to improve communications, teamwork and morale.
Ancillary to our core workplace mediation services, Arc Mediation offers a range of corporate services to SME’s, multinationals and semi-state organisations. The services are offered as distinct cost effective modules and include:
Workplace Health Check
ARC will review your processes, documentation and procedures for the employment of staff, the storing of records, your staff handbook, and the operations of workplace dispute resolution. Where necessary, we can make recommendations to ensure compliance with the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) Code of Practice 2007, guidelines, Registered Agreements, and any statutory requirements such as the Industrial Relations Act (1990) and the Employment Equality Act (1998). For new businesses, we can also provide you with best practice documented processes which are designed to help you avoid costly and acrimonious disputes between staff members, or between staff and you the employer.
Workplace Training
We offer workplace training for management, owners and HR personnel with courses on Employment Law and Conflict Resolution. Our training includes a best practice approach to identifying and addressing interpersonal conflict and promoting harmonious and productive working. The training includes; an over-view of what legislation/Codes of Practice govern this area, early identification of workplace issues, best practice informal and formal processes to investigate complaints and an understanding of mediation, through role play.
Employment Regulatory Compliance Check
ARC will review your processes, staff manuals, systems for staff rostering etc. to assist your compliance with your legal obligations as an Employer, both statutory and Registered Employment Agreements. We will also assist you to prepare for an inspection by NERA, by a thorough examination of your compliance with statutory requirements, we will identify any issues arising and recommend a course of action, pre-inspection. We have particular expertise in conducting these assessments for clients in the Hotel & Leisure sector.
Meeting Facilitation
Overcoming deadlock in negotiations is often achieved through the use of facilitation and brainstorming techniques. Techniques typically used in mediations include “brain writing”, “round robin”, “star bursting” & “rapid ideation”. These techniques have been tried and tested empirically to get to the heart of issues while enabling shared understanding of problems and possible solutions.
ARC can facilitate consultations using Open Space Technology techniques. Open Spaces enables ARC facilitators to elicit diverse and complex issues while reaching consensus on possible solutions and their implementation. Our mediators have facilitated consultations among diverse groups including industrial & academic researchers, and cross-border collaboration initiatives among SME manufacturers.
Labour Bargaining
In times of financial difficulty, businesses may be left with no option but to renegotiate employee contracts to reduce costs. This may be done by cutting overtime pay, allowances, reducing hours, introducing flexible working times and even across-the-board salary reduction by a fixed percentage. Our mediators and employment law experts can help manage the process of consultation with staff and staff representatives to reduce your costs and keep your business alive. When no other option is available, we can help manage the creation of redundancy policies or agreements in consultation with employees and their representatives. We can create a formal redundancy procedure, including fair selection criteria, and assist in its implementation.
Mediation with Creditors
Arc’s mediation team has expertise in company law in general and specifically the area of civil debt enforcement. We have mediated on behalf of borrowers with their lenders to modify loan terms and assist with refinancing. Our team can advise borrowers on their rights and assist them in negotiating with lenders, developing practical refinancing options. We always urge borrowers, individuals and companies, to engage with their banks when they become aware they cannot make repayments.
Workplace Investigations
Arc Mediators will help you manage a dispute resolution process within your organisation, either through mediation, or by conducting a best-practice formal investigation of bullying or harassment as provided under the Health and Safety Authority’s Code of Practice 2007. ARC may either be contracted to conduct the investigation or to manage an internal investigation; providing template agreements, reports and advice on scheduling, information gathering and analysis.
We will not, however, recommend whether disciplinary action should be taken or provide legal advice regarding the defence of any litigation a company may face under employment law.
We understand the impact a dispute can have on your business and we aim to resolve all disputes as fairly, quickly and cost effectively as possible.
A PDF describing our corporate services is available here for download.