No, I won’t run it that way, but don’t worry. The private sessions in Civil and Commercial mediations are necessary for planning offers and how to test the strength of the other side’s legal case. In workplace mediations nobody cares about those things. There is no intention to agree terms for a legally enforceable contract and no interest in anyone’s ability to prove things in court. There is no scope for either side to win an advantage over the other, so confidentiality is not necessary.
The object is only to identify ways of repairing relationships and to keep you in your job. This can only be done face to face. Many of the repairs to your relationship will be in place before the mediation is over, simply as a result of resuming direct communication. I will certainly meet privately with you in the days before the main joint meeting happens, and briefly again on mediation day. All of what you say to me there will remain confidential unless you give me permission to divulge it.