Review

Jane Fairhurst Head of Employee & Industrial Relations at Royal Mail

“Royal Mail introduced mediation as part of the Agenda for Growth Agreement (our Industrial Relations Strategy) in partnership with the CWU, the Royal Mail Union. We use mediation to resolve cases of bullying and harassment and industrial relations disputes. TCM have been a critical partner in the development of mediation within Royal Mail and they have been a pleasure to work with at every stage – from the design to the roll out of mediation across the entire company. Mediation has been incredibly effective. In the first two years of using mediation, we had undertaken 329 mediations of which 118 were industrial relations cases and 211 were in bullying and harassment cases. 88% of all cases were resolved through mediation. The cost savings to Royal Mail are measured in terms of tens of millions of pounds. That does not include the less visible benefits of a more collaborative and adult relationship in the workplace and between Royal Mail and its unions partners.”