{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/use-mediation-when-the-relationship-needs-a-neutral-process-not-another-referee",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0766",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Use mediation when the relationship needs a neutral process, not another referee",
  "summary": "A mediator owns the process, not the verdict.",
  "kind": "concept",
  "body": "Consider mediation when the main problem is a working relationship or communication breakdown and both sides can participate voluntarily. Expect the mediator to remain impartial and help the parties find a workable agreement rather than decide who wins.",
  "limits": [
    "Mediation is not appropriate for every dispute. Follow local policy and specialist advice for serious allegations, rights, coercion or safety concerns."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-conflict-repair-and-difficult-conversations"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-2765C97B7512B7C4",
    "RS-395F287B7F6FFEAC"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "Acas describes mediation as an impartial, voluntary and confidential process aimed at helping the parties reach their own future-focused solution rather than deciding who was right in the past.",
      "source_id": "RS-2765C97B7512B7C4",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Mediation is not suitable or available for every dispute and is not a substitute for required formal procedures.",
      "locator": "What mediation is; how mediation can help"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Acas mediator guidance describes hearing participants separately, allowing each account without interruption in a joint meeting, summarising areas of agreement and disagreement, and checking that any agreement is workable and recorded.",
      "source_id": "RS-395F287B7F6FFEAC",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "This is a mediation process example, not a claim that every difficult conversation requires these stages.",
      "locator": "Separate meeting; Joint meeting; If you reach an agreement"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "Direct discussion is stuck but the parties may still be able to reach their own agreement with structured impartial help."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Mediation is not appropriate for every dispute. Follow local policy and specialist advice for serious allegations, rights, coercion or safety concerns."
  ],
  "example": "Two colleagues who must keep working together use a neutral mediator after repeated direct conversations produce the same impasse.",
  "check": "You can state what mediation can decide, what it cannot decide and whether participation is voluntary.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-2765C97B7512B7C4",
      "title": "What mediation is and how it can help",
      "url": "https://www.acas.org.uk/mediation"
    },
    {
      "id": "RS-395F287B7F6FFEAC",
      "title": "How Acas mediators work",
      "url": "https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-mediation-support/how-acas-mediators-work"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0766",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0762",
      "type": "alternative",
      "url": "/knowledge/let-the-other-account-exist-before-you-rebut-it"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-0370844062EBEB45",
      "title": "Handle a work conflict as a problem to resolve, not a verdict to win",
      "url": "/collections/handle-a-work-conflict-as-a-problem-to-resolve-not-a-verdict-to-win"
    }
  ]
}