Restorative Justice and Employee Conflict Resolution Report

This report delves into the realm of dispute resolution, specifically within the context of employee conflicts, with a focus on restorative justice. It begins by defining dispute resolution and its various methods, including negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, before introducing the concept of restorative justice. The main body of the report explores issues such as inappropriate behavior, bullying, and discrimination in the workplace, emphasizing the role of restorative practice in addressing these issues. It outlines the principles of restorative justice, including repair, encounter, and transformation, and provides case law examples to illustrate its application. The report also examines the relationship between restorative justice and criminal justice, as well as the nature of different types of disputes and their solutions. It further discusses the limitations of restorative justice. The report utilizes both primary and secondary sources, including case laws and academic literature, to support its analysis and provide a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..............................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Dispute resolution refers to as the activity or process which helps in solving out the
disputes between two or more parties 1. It is the solution which helps in minimising the conflicts
or issues which are generally occur and arise. It can be solved by meeting the needs of the one of
the parties and addressing their interest. Companies include the dispute resolution clause in
their agreements with their employees that defines as how conflicts are going to be solve.
Solution of the disputes includes the negotiation, mediation, arbitration, collaborative, law and
litigation. Present essay is based on the dispute resolution in the context of employees conflicts
in the form of restorative justice in an organisation. In this report all the issues, principle,
practices and the benefits, importance, and limits of the restorative justice is also included.
MAIN BODY
The term restorative justice means the harm by crime or conflicts and those who are
responsible for the harm taking into communication enabling everyone who affected by the
incident to play a part in repairing that and finding a positive way for such type of incident. At
the workplace, when conflicts arise and people experience inappropriate behaviour at work, then
such activities affect the relationship between them and whole team is going to suffer from such
issues 2.
Issues and solutions in the context of restorative practice:
Some of the major issues which are mainly find out at the workplace are abusing,
inappropriate behaviour etc. all such factors arise the disputes between the employees. This
affects the business effectiveness totally and some times whole team is going to suffer from such
issues. For solving out such issues dispute resolutions are used which helps in solving out the
conflicts which occurs. In this concern restorative practise is used which helps in prevent this
happening at the workplace and enabling all the employees and workers to work together in a
well and appropriate manner.
1 Bacow and Wheeler . Environmental dispute resolution. Springer Science & Business
Media; (2013) Jun 29.
2 Menkel-Meadow C, Love LP, Schneider AK. Mediation: Practice, policy, and ethics.
(2013).

In an organisation it is the major duty of a team leader to monitor all the issues which
arise in the employees. An another important duty of the team leader is to sort out the issue
which enables whole company to suffer from such crises 3.
Another major issue in an organisation is might be the bullying and discrimination. This
affects the behaviour of an individual badly. Discrimination is an unlawful activity and it is
consider as the criminal activity. The person who done this activity is a offender and be
punishable by the government according to the legislation. According to the Royal mail racism
case law which was held in the year 2012 and the judgement is based on the equality act . In this
case Abdul Musa was the victim who faced the discrimination from other employees. He got the
compensation of £100,000. with the help of this case law it is signifies that equity act protects
from getting victimised.
Court and the board of the company plays the role of the third party which helps in
solving out such type of crises in an organisation. By consulting the proper restorative approach
it is helpful in meeting the change in transformational change in their life's 4.
While considering the restorative approach there are three main big ideas which an
organisation have to taken into intellect-ion.
1. Repair: Criminal activity causes the harm so much and justice is the biggest thing which
helps in recovering from the harm.
2. Encounter: In this concern both the parties have to work together that how do the resolve
such issue.
3. Transformation: This can cause the fundamental changes which occur in people,
relationship and committees.
In the business sense, if in any firm an organisation found that illegal activity is going on
then they have to consider such ideas in this respect. Like if any kind of discrimination take place
the management have to work on such issues and repair the cause properly with the help of
taking both the parties together. This helps in the transformation.
Case law for the restorative justice is as follow:
3 Allee , Peinhardt . Delegating differences: Bilateral investment treaties and bargaining
over dispute resolution provisions. International Studies Quarterly. (2010) Mar 1;54(1):1-26.
4 Moffitt ML, Bordone RC, editors. The handbook of dispute resolution. John Wiley &
Sons; (2012) Jun 28.

Lipton, S E. Reasons for disposition of the Honourable Judge S.E. Lipton. R. v. C.L.T.,
2002 ABPC 116. according to this case judgement, the young boy went to the jail in the custody
for two years.
The restorative justice defines as the group of people take decision same like as in the
case of young boy the opposition party applies for the two years imprisonment for the boy and
the court judges were take decision on the basis of whole case.
Robbery of an elderly women: according to this case law a 17 year old boy robbed a
women and harm serious injuries. The victim and offender later to0ok part in film about
restorative justice.
Principles in governing the issues and the use of primary and secondary sources:
The foundational principle of the restorative justice is as the follow:
1. Crime causes harm and justice have to focus on such issues through which the harm
actually happens. So management have to work on such issues like discrimination,
2. Person who get affected by the activity have to actively participate in the process of
resolution. It helps in making the activity effective and it become able to explain
everything in a proper manner.
3. The major task of the government/management is just to make proper order and law. And
the communities have to build peace.
Management of each and every organisation have to analyse the activity and the criminal
offender who done that crime. Also the person whom with that cause happen have to actively
participate in the process of justice. This helps in creating whole discussion successful and it also
helps in finding out the needs of an individual with the help of negotiation process which is to be
include under the lawful activity 5.
Government imposed many laws and regulations in the regards with the employment
benefits. They made laws and order like discrimination act etc, which states that each and every
person should have to follow the decorum and always have to do the lawful act. All the statutory
instruments, case law are consider as the primary source. In which employee benefits or the laws
for a common person are included.
5 Fassin , Pandolfi , editors. Contemporary states of emergency: the politics of military
and humanitarian interventions. New York: Zone Books; (2010).

According to the secondary sources company can consider the academics books, articles
which are helpful in creating the clause of their own. Like firms consider the restorative
approach clause in their agreement which signifies that they consider the secondary source while
creating their rules and regulations of the organisation.
An overview of the restorative justice is as follow:
1. It enables a different manner of thinking about the crime with the response towards the
crime.
2. It also helps in sorting out the criminal offens without the interruption of court and helps
in creating the special laws for future prevention.
3. Requires offenders to take the responsibility for the harm which they actually have made
caused.
4. It helps in forming the redress for the victim and reintegrate both the person offender and
the innocent within the community.
5. An organisation also needs some cooperative efforts by the communities and the
government. So, the decision can be peacefully accomplished.
Nature of the dispute resolution and restorative justice:
Restorative approach can also be used proactively and in a preventative manner so that a
strong and positive relationship can be built at the workplace. Staff meetings etc. helps in
creating a positive relation along with the mutual respect towards each other.
According to.... dispute resolutions helps in sorting out the issues which generally taking
place in the organisation with the help of third party. It helps them in making the negotiation
process as well as the mediation process, this enables to both the parties to sort out their issues
with the help of other one 6. The third person decision is final with in the favour of the innocent
one.
It is truly focus on the one issue which is arise and its nature is narrow. Due to largely
focus on one issue along with its resolution.
On the other hand restorative justice is a wider concept and it helps in building a better
relationship. It enables all the employees and the person to find out an appropriate manner to find
out a best positive way of work. Thus it includes the whole organisation which helps in finding
6 Lande The Revolution in Family Law Dispute Resolution. J. Am. Acad. Matrimonial
Law.. (2011);24:411.

out the suitable decision. That's why it is helpful and beneficial for an organisation. An
restorative based entity helps in promoting the safer, healthier and happy environment at the
workplace.
Relation of restorative justice with criminal justice and dispute resolution:
In restorative justice it means when group of people will going to take the decision for a
common crisis. It helps in making the decision effective and helps in making the right
compensation. The major relation with the restorative justice with the criminal justice is that in
the jury of court many judges take decision for an individual who attempt the crime as like the
same in the restorative justice. This helps in making the decision effective because the number of
person come together for making a common conclusion.
Different range of disputes and their solution:
Disputes generally arise due to change in thinking, change in mental ability, change in
attitude. If all such points are included in the one report then, it is analyse that the main reason
behind the disputes is the all people are differ from each other. They all see things differently,
their wants are different and whole expectations are differ from each other. Hence, it is the main
reason behind the disputes which occur and made the deviation between various group of people.
Now in any organisation some leading conditions which arise the conflicts are as follow:
1. Conflict of interest: All people in any business firms have different nature and they all
belong to some different background. It leads in making their interest are also different
from each other.
2. Communication barrier: Sometimes the main reason behind the conflicts in the business
entities are the lack of communication. Two person will not be able to solve their issues
by proper communication 7. Then it become as the major reason behind the issue.
3. Unresolved prior conflicts: It is be termed as the main reason because most of the time
employees do not sort out their issues and in future they will going to suffer some more
conflicts between them. Such past unsolved issues create a barrier between each of them.
7 Dung , Thang . Towards (Probabilistic) Argumentation for Jury-based Dispute
Resolution. COMMA. (2010) Aug 5;216:171-82.

All problems can be sorted out by using the appropriate methods which helps in reducing
the barrier and conflicts in the organisation. There are different ways through which the conflicts
situation can be deal in the proper manner:
1. Fight: If there is any issue arise among in the employees, so, they have to fight with each
other and start arguing with each other. Thus it helps them in solving out all the issues
between them along with that their communication gap also get minimise.
2. Negotiate: Negotiation is the best suitable method through which all the issues and
conflicts can be easily sort out. Thus it helps in securing the interest of both the parties.
3. Solve the problem: Another important term in this concern is the solve the problem
method. By using the proper communication method , it is helpful in solving the problem
between each and every prospect of society.
4. Design: The structure of the company also helps in solving the issues like if organisation
is following the restorative approach it helps them in solving out their issues with the
help of committee. Thus it also helps them in taking care about each and every person
interest 8.
Limitation of restorative justice
1. The major limitation of this approach is that a group of people are taking decision so the
decision is totally related with the majority. Hence, it leads in changing the behaviour of
other due to dissatisfaction.
2. Another limitation of this approach is that the decision making power is totally depend
upon on the number of person. If number of employees are against for a individual, then
the dissatisfaction of that person is again arise the conflicts. Which is not good for the
whole unit.
CONCLUSION
Restorative justice is helpful in take care about the whole business unit and helps in
making the team work effective. It also helps in minimising the issues which occur and leads in
making the friendly behaviour with each other by using a systematic manner in which both the
8 Carneiro , and et. al. Using case-based reasoning to support alternative dispute
resolution. InDistributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence (2010) (pp. 123-130). Springer
Berlin Heidelberg.

parties are working together into one community. Government imposed many laws which are
helpful in the true judgement in an organisation. It is the moral duty of manager to take care
about such laws and remind them at the workplace on timely basis.
REFERENCES
Books and journals
Allee T, Peinhardt C. Delegating differences: Bilateral investment treaties and bargaining over
dispute resolution provisions. International Studies Quarterly. 2010 Mar 1;54(1):1-26.
Bacow LS, Wheeler M. Environmental dispute resolution. Springer Science & Business Media;
2013 Jun 29.
Carneiro D, Novais P, Andrade F, Zeleznikow J, Neves J. Using case-based reasoning to support
alternative dispute resolution. InDistributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence 2010 (pp. 123-
130). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Dung PM, Thang PM. Towards (Probabilistic) Argumentation for Jury-based Dispute
Resolution. COMMA. 2010 Aug 5;216:171-82.
Fassin D, Pandolfi M, editors. Contemporary states of emergency: the politics of military and
humanitarian interventions. New York: Zone Books; 2010.
Fiadjoe A. Alternative dispute resolution: a developing world perspective. Routledge; 2013 Mar
4.
Keršuliene V, Zavadskas EK, Turskis Z. Selection of rational dispute resolution method by
applying new step‐wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA). Journal of Business
Economics and Management. 2010 Jan 1;11(2):243-58.
Lande J. The Revolution in Family Law Dispute Resolution. J. Am. Acad. Matrimonial Law..
2011;24:411.
Lumineau F, Malhotra D. Shadow of the contract: How contract structure shapes interfirm
dispute resolution. Strategic Management Journal. 2011 May 1;32(5):532-55.
Menkel-Meadow C, Love LP, Schneider AK. Mediation: Practice, policy, and ethics. 2013.
Moffitt ML, Bordone RC, editors. The handbook of dispute resolution. John Wiley & Sons; 2012
Jun 28.
Rashid SK. Alternative dispute resolution in the context of Islamic law.
Online

What Is Restorative Justice? 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<http://restorativejustice.org/restorative-justice/about-restorative-justice/tutorial-intro-
to-restorative-justice/lesson-1-what-is-restorative-justice/>. [Accessed on 17th April 2017]