Lessons from staying in the middle

Strikes Bill UK: Striking the Right Legal Balance

Industrial actions over the past months have highlighted the difficulties for both organisations and individuals in the wake of the pandemic, energy and cost-of-living crisis.

Failures in Communication: Stormy Seas ahead for Workplace Relations

The latest events in British politics show us how damaging the results of failures in communication can be. 

Stormy Industrial Seas

I’m just back from the wonderful experience of visiting St Kilda. 

Get Past No in Negotiations & Disputes

How a change in perspective can help with dispute resolution

"I’d rather struggle and complain!"

Have you ever found yourself dealing with someone who refuses to see a solution you find blindingly obvious, but refuses to take it? You’re not alone!

Are you listening?

One of the keys to successful negotiation is to listen and understand what’s REALLY being said by the ‘other side’. As a mediator and negotiator, listening is my stock in trade, but that doesn’t mean it happens easily.

Winning arguments with yourself?

I recently spoke with Roxanne Kerr of Helix Trauma Therapies for her regular podcast. We set out to discuss why conflict occurs. I enjoyed the conversation and I thought I’d share the result.

International Mediation Training

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been privileged to deliver mediation skills training on a number of occasions for the ITCILO, writes Strathesk Re:solutions Founding Director, Malcolm Currie.

Legal mediation: time to start talking!

With court business still at a low ebb, there has never been a better time to consider mediation. Find out how online mediation works, where to access it and how you can try it out

A Day to Remember

Forget-me-not - this year International Workers’ Memorial Day has a special poignancy. 

Looking Beyond Lockdown

It’s the end of our first week in lockdown, so I thought I’d share my reflections on how I, and my business, are being affected.

Governing Change at Work

There has been a lot of discussion about corporate governance in recent years, even more about the place of the workforce within that. 

Taking Mediation to the Next Level

About a year ago, Founding Director of Strathesk Re:solutions, Malcolm Currie, undertook to take his mediation to the next level. Sounds good! But what on Earth does it mean?

Lessons from staying in the middle

Malcolm Currie, a member of CEDR's Training Faculty shares his experience of being a Rugby Referee Coach and a Trade Union Negotiator and the lessons he has learnt from them.

Taking a Long Look at Yourself…

One of the disciplines that underpins mediation is the benefit that comes from reflecting on how a recent process has run. But it’s a habit that can have much wider benefits.

Reflections from Tbilisi

To mediate, or not to mediate, that is the question

Despite that, many employers have been slow to adopt mediation as an approach, often reluctant to put it in place early enough to prevent some situations becoming intractable. 

Bullying at work shouldn’t be hidden by ‘playground’ stigma

This is Anti-Bullying Week 2018 (#ABW2018), with a series of events, articles and publications aimed at making the problem of bullying something about which we all know more and are better equipped to stop.

Putting Mental Health in its Proper Workplace…

Last Wednesday was World Mental Health Day 2018.  The day aims to raise awareness of mental health and the issues around it, particularly those that arise from mental ILL-health.

A record year for strikes

The Office of National Statistics has recently published its latest figures around industrial disputes. 

International Women’s Day – is it needed?

Today is International Women’s Day, so I thought it was timely to reflect on perceptions of women’s place in UK society, and ask the question: International Women’s Day – is it needed?

Shared Parental Leave, Another Push?

The Government is running a campaign to encourage new parents to share their parental leave.

Training in Copenhagen

At the end of November I delivered a training course on Advanced Negotiation Skills.

SME Sickness Absence – Prevention or Cure, THAT is the Problem…

Most of my blogs have been about topics in the news that I find interesting, or on which I’d like to provoke a little debate, but this time round I thought I’d take a slightly different approach and reach out to people who.

Good Riddance to Employment Tribunal Fees

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but the Cameron Government’s decision to charge fees for people to raise claims in the Employment Tribunal has finally been shown to be illegal.

Taylor Report on Employment – where now?

We (OK, a few of us) were on tenterhooks waiting for the publication of the Taylor Report into employment practices in the UK, but will it make things clearer or further muddy the waters?

Back to the Future as wages are predicted to stay in the past

In spite of political insistence that the economy is recovering, and has been for a good while, this week the BBC’s Economics Editor has predicted that wages are likely to stagnate for a good while longer.

Trade Unions face big new fines

“The number of working days lost are at historically low levels when looking at the long-run monthly time series back to the 1930s.”