Dublin
The Ormond Building
31–36 Ormond Quay Upper
Dublin 7, D07 EE37
01 5827148
richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com
Kilkenny
2 Rose Inn Street
Kilkenny, R95 W58D
Monday to Friday, 9:00–5:30
Same-week appointments
All enquiries: 01 5827148
Before You Call — Five Things
1. The situation in ten lines. What is happening now, not the whole history — the history matters less at this stage than people expect.
2. Everyone involved, by name, plus the employer entity. The conflicts check runs before anything else, and it is better done in the first two minutes than the third email.
3. Where things stand procedurally. Informal conversations, a grievance lodged, an investigation started or finished, absence, suspension, a WRC complaint.
4. Whether any allegation involves misconduct, bullying, harassment, discrimination, safety or a protected disclosure. Some of those need a process that makes findings, and saying so early saves everyone a wasted month.
5. What a workable outcome would actually look like. The most useful sentence in the email — and the one almost nobody has written down.
Which Role Are You Looking For?
Say at the outset, because they are different instructions and are never combined in the same matter. Mediator — the neutral, accepted by everyone, acting for nobody, making no findings: either side can make the first approach, and often does, but the appointment needs both to agree, so a first call usually produces something you can put to the other side. Your own adviser — a normal single-client instruction, if what you need is someone in your corner rather than a neutral in the middle. Not sure whether this is even a mediation? Start with the Mediate or Investigate check, which walks the sorting questions in two minutes, or the Escalation Stage Check, which shows what is still available at the point you have reached. Neither stores anything.