Mediation Terms and Conditions

1. The Nature of Mediation

1.1 Mediation is a voluntary, confidential and without prejudice process in which an independent, impartial mediator assists the parties to try to reach their own settlement of a dispute.

1.2 The mediator has no power to impose a decision, to determine liability or to give a ruling. Any settlement is reached by the parties themselves.

1.3 Any party may withdraw from the mediation at any time. Taking part does not affect a party's right to bring or continue court or tribunal proceedings.

1.4 A settlement is binding only once it is recorded in writing and signed by or on behalf of the parties (or, in a workplace mediation, once the parties agree in writing that the outcome is to be binding).

2. Enquiries and Appointment

2.1 Submitting an enquiry does not create a mediator-client relationship and does not amount to acceptance of an appointment.

2.2 ProMediate (UK) Limited will carry out a conflict check and consider availability and suitability before confirming whether the mediation can be accepted.

2.3 A mediation is confirmed only when ProMediate has issued written confirmation of the date, the mediator and the fee, and the parties (or their representatives) have signed the mediation agreement provided for the case.

2.4 The mediation agreement issued for the individual case governs the conduct of the mediation itself. Where there is any inconsistency between that agreement and these Terms, the signed mediation agreement prevails.

2.5 ProMediate may decline an enquiry, or discontinue a mediation, where a conflict of interest arises, where the matter is unsuitable for mediation, or where a party behaves abusively or unreasonably.

3. Impartiality and the Mediator's Role

3.1 The mediator is independent of all parties and acts impartially throughout.

3.2 The mediator does not represent any party, does not give legal advice and does not advise on the merits of the dispute or of any proposed settlement.

3.3 Parties are free, and are encouraged, to take independent legal advice at any stage and before entering into any settlement.

3.4 The mediator will disclose any circumstance which might reasonably be thought to affect their impartiality. A mediator will withdraw where impartiality cannot be maintained.

4. Confidentiality and Without Prejudice Status

4.1 The mediation and everything said, written or produced for it is confidential and is conducted on a without prejudice basis, save as to the fact and terms of any concluded settlement.

4.2 Information given to the mediator privately by one party will not be passed to any other party without that party's permission.

4.3 Subject to the exceptions required or permitted by law set out below, communications made specifically for the purpose of attempting to resolve the dispute through mediation are confidential and without prejudice, and may not be relied upon or adduced in evidence in any subsequent court, tribunal, arbitration or other proceedings. This includes settlement offers and proposals; concessions made for settlement purposes; statements made solely for the purposes of the mediation; confidential communications with the mediator; and any suggestion or settlement proposal put forward by the mediator.

4.4 Documents or evidence which exist independently of the mediation do not become confidential, privileged or inadmissible merely because they were referred to, disclosed or produced during the mediation.

4.5 A written settlement agreement signed by or on behalf of the parties may be relied upon and produced so far as necessary to establish, interpret or enforce the settlement.

4.6 Confidentiality and without prejudice protection do not apply, and nothing in these Terms operates to prevent disclosure, where disclosure is required by law, by a regulator or by an order of a court or tribunal, or where an established exception recognised by law applies, or where the mediator reasonably considers disclosure necessary to prevent harm to a person or to report a matter which must be reported.

4.7 The parties agree not to call the mediator or any ProMediate staff member as a witness, and not to require production of the mediation file, in any proceedings relating to the dispute, save where compelled to do so by law or by a court or tribunal.

4.8 Unless the mediator and all parties expressly agree otherwise in advance, no participant may audio-record or video-record the mediation, create an automated transcript, activate an AI notetaker, permit an AI meeting assistant or bot to join, use automated meeting-summary technology, or otherwise make an electronic record of confidential mediation discussions.

4.9 Parties and their representatives are responsible for disabling automatic recording, transcription and AI meeting-assistant functions on their own devices, platforms and accounts before the mediation begins, and for ensuring that anyone attending with them does the same.

5. Information and Documents

5.1 Please do not send substantial case papers with an initial enquiry. Documents should be provided only once ProMediate has invited them and the mediation has been confirmed.

5.2 Each party is responsible for ensuring that it is entitled to disclose to ProMediate and to the mediator the information and documents it provides.

5.3 Position statements and case papers are exchanged in accordance with the timetable set for the mediation, unless a party clearly marks material as provided to the mediator in confidence.

6. Fees, Cancellation and Payment

6.1 Fees are quoted in writing before a mediation is confirmed. Unless agreed otherwise, fees are quoted per party and are exclusive of VAT.

6.2 Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, the mediator's fees and expenses are shared equally between the parties, and each party bears its own costs of participating in the mediation.

6.3 Fees are payable in advance of the mediation date unless credit terms have been agreed in writing.

6.4 Cancellation and postponement charges, where they apply, are set out in the written quotation and the mediation agreement for the case.

6.5 Our current fee structure is published on the Fees page of this website.

7. Online and Hybrid Mediation

7.1 Where a mediation is conducted online, a secure video platform with private breakout rooms is used, and the same confidentiality obligations apply as at an in-person mediation.

7.2 Parties must take reasonable steps to ensure that they participate from a private location, that no unauthorised person can see or hear the session, and that no recording is made.

7.3 ProMediate is not responsible for a party's own internet connection, hardware or local IT restrictions.

8. Use of AI-Assisted Technology

8.1 ProMediate may make limited and proportionate use of appropriate AI-assisted technology in administering and preparing for a mediation. This may include assistance with organising documents, summarising material, identifying relevant information, preparing chronologies, administrative correspondence and other administrative or preparatory tasks reasonably connected with the mediation.

8.2 Any such use is limited and proportionate, and appropriate confidentiality, data protection and information-security safeguards apply. Our Privacy Policy explains how personal data is handled.

8.3 AI is an assistive tool only. It does not replace the mediator's professional judgment, does not decide the dispute, and does not determine whether or on what terms a dispute should settle.

8.4 Substantive mediation decisions and professional judgments remain subject to human oversight by the mediator or another responsible person at ProMediate.

8.5 ProMediate will not knowingly use confidential mediation material to train publicly available AI models.

8.6 The restrictions on recording, transcription and AI meeting assistants set out at paragraphs 4.8 and 4.9 apply to all participants.

9. Personal Data

9.1 ProMediate (UK) Limited is the data controller for personal data processed in connection with an enquiry or a mediation. Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, and the rights available to you.

9.2 Enquiry details submitted through this website are stored securely in our case management database and are accessible only to authorised ProMediate personnel. A notification containing no dispute details is sent to our enquiries mailbox so that the enquiry is picked up promptly.

9.3 We process personal data to administer the mediation (performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in providing the service) and to meet our legal, regulatory and Civil Mediation Council obligations.

9.4 Where a matter involves special category data, for example health information, we process it only where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or with explicit consent.

9.5 Records are retained in accordance with our Data Retention Policy and then securely destroyed.

10. Acceptance of These Terms by the Parties

10.1 The person submitting an enquiry accepts these Terms on their own behalf and, where they submit the enquiry as a representative, confirms that they are authorised to do so on behalf of the party they represent.

10.2 Acceptance is recorded against the enquiry, together with the date and time of acceptance and the version of these Terms accepted.

10.3 Acceptance of these online Terms by one party does not bind any other party. Each participating party will be required to agree to the applicable mediation terms, ordinarily through the case-specific Mediation Agreement, before participating in the mediation.

10.4 The case-specific Mediation Agreement will be the document under which all participating parties confirm their acceptance of the mediation process for that case.

10.5 Where an enquiry is submitted through an AI assistant or agent integration, acceptance must still be given by the enquirer, and no mediation is confirmed until a person at ProMediate has reviewed the enquiry.

11. Liability

11.1 Neither ProMediate nor the mediator is liable for any act or omission in the performance of their role in connection with a mediation, unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith.

11.2 Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any liability which cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.

11.3 ProMediate maintains professional indemnity insurance appropriate to its work as a Civil Mediation Council Registered Mediation Provider.

12. Complaints, Governing Law and Changes to These Terms

12.1 Complaints about ProMediate's service are dealt with under our published Complaints Procedure, which includes escalation to the Civil Mediation Council where a complaint cannot be resolved.

12.2 These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.

12.3 These Terms may be updated from time to time. The version in force when an enquiry is submitted is the version recorded against that enquiry.