BL Resolve - February 2011 update
mediation news
Vince Cable outlines plans for compulsory workplace
mediation
As part of a wide range of reforms to the employment tribunal
system Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has proposed a first
stage compulsory referral to ACAS for mediation before an employee
can take his or her case to a tribunal. These proposals are in
early stages but have generally been welcomed by business leaders
as a way to cut the costs for business of employment disputes.
use of mediation speeds up resolution of family cases
As part of the Government's overall scheme to encourage greater
use of mediation in family cases the Ministry of Justice released
statistics showing that the average time it takes to resolve a case
using mediation is 110 days compared to 435 days for non-mediated
cases.
legal updates
changes to the CPR to implement the Mediation Directive
The CPR will be amended with effect from 6 April 2011 to include
a new procedure enabling mediation settlement agreements in cross
border disputes to be enforced.[1] The new procedure includes
provisions for disclosure of evidence and for obtaining evidence
from mediators. The parties will need to give explicit consent to
the application for an enforcement order. This may become most
commonly achieved by way of a clause in mediation settlement
agreements.
notes
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The Civil Procedure
(Amendment) Rules 2011 [2011 No 88]
