Managing Individual Conflict

SETA survey of representatives in Tribunal cases 2008

t

Research Paper

Managing Individual Conflict in the Private Sector A Case Study

Ref: 05/12

2012 Richard Saundry and Gemma Wibberley Institute for research into organisations, work and employment, iROWE Lancashire Business School

For any further information on this study, or other aspects of the Acas Research and Evaluation programme, please telephone 020 7210 3673 or email research@acas.org.uk Acas research publications can be found at www.acas.org.uk/researchpapers

ISBN 978-1-908370-16-7

Managing Individual Conflict in the Private Sector

A Case Study

Richard Saundry Gemma Wibberley Institute for research into organisations, work and employment, iROWE Lancashire Business School

CONTENTS

PREFACE 1. 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3. 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5. 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 6. 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 7. 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 8. 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 INTRODUCTION KEY THEMES AND ISSUES Conflict and disputes, discipline or grievance – a problem of definition? Organisational actors, workplace relations and informal resolution Mediation – benefits and barriers Summary METHODOLOGY BACKGROUND – STRUCTURE, CONTEXT AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS Workforce composition Employment Relations at SDG Management of Individual Employment Disputes Summary MANAGING CONFLICT AND RESOLVING DISPUTES AT SDG Patterns of conflict and individual employment disputes Managing conflict – preventing the development of disputes? Resolving individual employment disputes – informal process and formal procedure Summary THE ROLE OF ORGANISATIONAL ACTORS – THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS Difficult Conversations – The Role of Line and Operational Managers HR practitioners – instilling confidence and underpinning informality? Employee Representation at SDG – Facilitating Resolution? Summary MEDIATION – INFORMALITY AND RELEVANCE Mediation as an informal process ‘Mediation? Just something that we do’ Barriers to conventional models of mediation Summary DISCUSSION AND...