Alternative Dispute Resolution and workplace conflict: a British-Nigerian Comparison

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With the continuous decline of union representation and the introduction of legal incentives for workers to resolve individual employment disputes/conflicts without resorting to the courts, ADR is gaining increasing prominence in the British landscape of industrial relations (CIPD, 2021). The most important sign and motor of this change have been the conciliation service offered by (Acas, 2021) to all workers wishing to lodge a claim in Employment Tribunals. Whilst the ADR has been encouraged in the U.K. as means to reduce litigation costs in relation to employment tribunal claims, there have been relatively few scholarly research on ADR as a means to settle workplace disputes in the U.K. (Acas, 2021). In Nigeria, due to lack of sensitisation in most organisations (Umegbolu, 2021), this has become an emergent field of study compared to the U.K. British workers have been mandated to lodge their dispute with ACAS before proceeding to an employment tribunal claim (Araujo et al., 2020). However, when it comes to Nigerian workers, this needs further work. A new field of study would be a comparative analysis of mediation in workplace disputes in Nigeria and the U.K., focusing on the role of mediation. It would entail a documentary analysis of existing grey literature in both countries and interviews with qualified mediators, conciliators, directors and (lawyers) in both countries and potentially trade unions in public sector organisations. It will make an original contribution to knowledge in both jurisdictions, particularly in Nigeria, where there is low patronage of ADR. It is imperative to point out that business innovations and laws are shaped after U.K. law (Burns 1978). For instance, Lagos was the first to introduce the new rules of civil procedure in 2004 based on Lord Woolf's reform (Umegbolu2021). Hence any policy and recommendation stipulated in this research would be embraced and implemented in Nigeria.