Voice
The CMC is the voice of mediation for the majority of mediators in England and Wales promoting mediation through their communications and influencing the political agenda through their links with the Ministry of Justice.
Credibility
Being a member of a professional and regulatory body like the CMC gives clients the confidence that you are a competent and professional mediator. This helps mediators obtain work – a client is much more likely to appoint a CMC Registered member than a mediator who is not registered with a respectable body. The CMC provides all members with its logo to use on publicity materials and email signature.
Community
It provides a community and a home for a wide range of meditators from Civil Commercial, Workplace, and Community, Peer, to SEND. This gives mediators support and enables them to network with colleagues in what is often a lonely profession.
Marketing
The CMC enables members to get their own name out to a wider audience. All members have access to free publicity through the CMC website and social media channels. Any member can submit content; case studies; stories; blogs; podcasts; videos or opinions; which can be distributed by the CMC. We also have a forwarding link from the UKGOV website which directs any mediation enquiries to CMC members.
Newsletter
A monthly online newsletter is delivered to members inbox with articles and features on developments in the mediation world and in their organisation. It also contains tenders and links to CPD events.
Website
A website providing everything the public needs to know about mediation and a searchable database to enable the public to find the mediator that is right for them. It also provides members with their own area to keep up with the CMC behind the scenes activities.
Events
The CMC runs an annual conference with high profile speakers and workshops giving CPD points and further networking opportunities. It also runs the bi-annual National Mediation Awards with sister organisations including the Family Mediation Council and the College of mediators. Highlighting the work of members. Both events provide much publicity for members and organisations raising their profile through targeted social media. Regular panels and surgeries which attract not just other mediators but potential clients.
CPD
Access to regular CPD events and seminars both on and offline are all offered to mediators at special rates.
Tendering Opportunities
Opportunities to tender for contracts are regularly sent to members and included on the CMC website.
New Opportunities
The CMC is constantly looking for new ways to promote the use of and awareness of mediation. A recent example is the contacting of universities in England and Wales to discuss the promotion of mediation within business and law degrees and also within their internal workplaces. The CMC has also produced an organigram of the ADR landscape. The Chair and Deputy Chair speak at national and international conferences, representing the mediation sector in England and Wales.
Discounts
Members can enjoy a discount on their professional insurance.
Regulation
The CMC acts as a regulatory body: the registration and standards committee set and maintain standards for training providers, individual mediators and mediation providers. This gives more credibility and protection to mediators and reassurance to parties than a mediator with no affiliation to a professional body.
Code of Conduct
Members can use the code of conduct to reassure clients that they are governed by professional standards.
Complaints Procedure
Members can use the complaints process to ensure that any complaint is properly investigated and dealt with.
Specialist Registers
The CMC maintains a specialist mediator register in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
Government and Judicial Liaison
CMC representatives liaise regularly with the Ministry of Justice on all matters relating to mediation and provide early engagement and input to policy developments, particularly through the Dispute Resolution Unit. CMC representatives sit on the Civil Justice Council’s Judicial ADR Committee, the Alternative Dispute Resolution All-Party Parliamentary Group (ADR APPG) and the Pre-Action Protocol Consultation working group. The CMC seeks to provide data to the MOJ by consulting with its members by way of surveys. It also liaises with GEMME – UK – the UK section of a European association of judges and retired judges who support ADR.
Responding to Government Consultations
The CMC responds to Government consultations on behalf of its members and following consultation with you. Detailed responses have recently been submitted to consultations on increasing the use of mediation in the civil justice system, the Singapore Convention and a Call for Evidence on Dispute Resolution in England and Wales.
Liaising with the Mediation Market
The CMC has led the way in bringing the mediation market together and in encouraging a consensual approach to Government consultations. The CMC has organised pan-sector meetings to discuss developments and works closely with the FMC to align the market.
Fixed Fee Scheme
The CMC runs the fixed fee scheme, which was introduced following the demise of a similar government scheme in 2019. The aim is to ensure that the public has access to mediation services which are proportionate to the value of smaller disputes (below £50,000).
CMC Membership Consultation
CMC has a number of working groups through which it communicates with its members and works to develop best practice and explore opportunities to promote mediation more widely. Currently, working groups exist for Workplace, Commercial, Community, Peer Mediation and Academic Research.
HMRC List of Approved Professional Organisations
The CMC is on the HMRC List of Approved Organisations. Members may claim their membership as an expense deduction when submitting their Tax Return.