One of the biggest challenges for employers as more employees work from home is developing policies for the management of day-to-day discipline and performance and conducting disciplinary enquiries online to ensure a fair outcome for both employer and employee.

It is more important than ever at present as conflict escalates in our societies, to reflect on how our unconscious biases might be causing or aggravating tensions.

In this first of a series of blogs to inform disputing parties and their lawyers about mediation, Robin Monakali explains what mediation is and its key principles.

We have now noticed that parties who delayed their mediations are returning to us to enquire about setting up the mediation previously contemplated. Processes are now being confirmed and taking place both online and face-to-face. We call these ‘boomerang mediations’. If you have a conflict or dispute which you think is ripe for mediation, please contact us for a discussion about how to set up the mediation. Whether it takes place online or face-to-face, Conflict Dynamics has a team of knowledgeable case management staff and a panel of experienced mediators to assist you to resolve the conflicts and disputes which might be holding you back from moving forward as the lockdown eases.

Many South African Schools are facing demands to change and even to radically transform themselves. Some of these demands relate to the ‘isms’ such as racism and other identity-related issues. Schools are responding to the demands in different ways, some more successful than others. John Brand and Felicity Steadman have written about the process that they have developed and used helping schools and other organisations formulate change strategies.

Recently in South Africa there have been tentative attempts in rules of court and government regulations to encourage parties to use mediation prior to litigating. These attempts are welcome and have become even more necessary because of the COVID 19 pandemic which has made easy, quick, and inexpensive access to justice even more difficult than it was in ‘normal’ times. The purpose of this blog is to suggest some ways in which Judges can best encourage mediation and ensure that parties receive quality mediation when they do agree to use it.