In the overwhelming majority of workplace mediations the employer bears the fee. That is normal, practical and entirely workable — and it produces a reasonable question from the employee that deserves a proper answer rather than reassurance: if they are paying, whose mediator is this?
What the Fee Buys, and What It Does Not
It buys a process. It does not buy an outcome, a report, or a view. The mediator appointed in a workplace matter acts for no party and advises no party regardless of who pays, makes no findings about anyone, does not tell the employer who was reasonable and who was difficult, does not summarise what was said in individual sessions, and does not recommend what should happen to anybody. If a mediator did any of those things they would have become an investigator or an adviser, and every subsequent participant in that organisation would be right to be guarded. The protection is structural rather than a matter of assurance: the mediator is proposed to both sides and accepted by both — an employee who does not accept the proposed mediator can say so, and that is the point at which the appointment is genuinely joint rather than nominally so. The terms are then signed by everyone and state the neutrality position expressly. And the employee is separately encouraged to take their own advice, from a solicitor or a union, before signing anything.
How Fees Are Actually Agreed — and the Alternatives
Fees are agreed in writing before anything begins, and the shape of the matter determines them: how many people need to be seen individually, whether it is a single process or a staged one with a review, and the venue. No figures appear on this website for that reason — a number quoted before the situation is understood would be a guess. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. Occasionally the question arises of parties sharing the cost, which is standard in commercial mediation and unusual here for an obvious reason: the parties are not commercially equivalent, and asking an employee to fund half of a process addressing a workplace problem is neither realistic nor fair. What an employee can reasonably ask for instead is the terms in writing — neutrality, what is recorded, that participation cannot affect appraisal or performance management, that declining is not misconduct, and that no right or complaint is waived. Those cost nothing and should never be refused. More on the neutrality question here.
For employers: the arithmetic against a formal investigation is not close — a mediation typically runs over weeks with a handful of sessions, while an investigation runs for months and consumes management time, HR time, external investigator costs and, frequently, the employment relationship it was meant to resolve. And that comparison ignores the cost of the absence, the turnover and the claim that a well-timed conversation would have avoided.
Fee structure for a specific situation: 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor & Mediator
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981) and holder of the Law Society of Ireland Diploma in Mediation. The firm also runs a substantial employment practice, which is why the honest sorting question — whether a situation needs a mediation or an investigation — gets answered at the first call rather than halfway through. Workplace mediations are conducted on site, at neutral venues, at The Ormond Building on Ormond Quay, at the Kilkenny office — or fully online. The mediator is appointed by both sides and acts for neither. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about workplace mediation and Irish law. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every workplace situation turns on its own facts, and advice on yours requires a consultation.
The mediator is not your legal adviser. Where Mary Molloy Solicitors is appointed as mediator, the mediator is neutral: the mediator acts for no party, advises no party, makes no findings and decides nothing. This is so regardless of which party is paying the fee. All participants are encouraged to take independent legal advice, and in particular to take advice before signing any agreement reached in mediation. Employees may wish to seek advice from their own solicitor or trade union. The firm does not act as mediator in any matter in which it acts, or has acted, for a party — conflicts are checked before any appointment is accepted.
Mediation is not a substitute for a required process. Some matters must be investigated rather than mediated, including allegations of serious misconduct, matters engaging health and safety duties, and protected disclosures. Nothing on this site suggests that mediation should displace an employer’s statutory obligations, a grievance or disciplinary procedure where one is required, or a complainant’s entitlement to have a complaint formally investigated or to bring proceedings.
Fees. Fees for mediation are agreed in writing before the mediation begins, and fees for legal services are agreed in writing with the client at the outset. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Where any payment or arrangement has tax consequences, those questions belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance, and are best addressed before anything is signed.