Scott is well known to HR professionals, trade union officials and employment lawyers throughout the island of Ireland.
Scott Alexander began working in employment relations in 1986, where he would negotiate with trade union representatives on behalf of his public sector employer on issues such as time off, TUPE, disciplinary procedures, equality issues and so on. Scott passed the CIPD Diploma in 1988, and has continued his CIPD membership since 1987.
Scott moved to Ireland in 1990, working in administration and training before he joined the Labour Relations Agency (the NI equivalent of the WRC) from 1992-2006. Scott was trained in both individual and collective conciliation skills by the LRA’s GB equivalent organisation, Acas, and spent several years helping employers and employees resolve many hundreds of individual and collective disputes. Scott was Arbitration Secretary at the LRA for three years and was responsible for drafting and administering the NI statutory arbitration scheme for employment disputes as an alternative to industrial tribunals.
Scott also ran the LRA’s Enquiry Point and worked in the organisation’s advisory services for some years. Although most of his advice was aimed at employer customers, Scott was also a trade union lay official and held several office positions, including Branch Secretary and Chair during his time at the LRA, giving him a rounded view of the needs, rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees.
Scott joined Legal Island, Ireland’s foremost provider of employment law updates, from 2006-2022, when he left to set up his own mediation, coaching and mentoring business. Scott was responsible for keeping customers and speakers/writers up to date on employment law and HR developments. He wrote the programmes for and chaired most of Legal Island’s events and delivered training on disciplinary and grievance and performance issues. Scott co-created the Ulster University Post Graduate Certificate in NI Employment Law and Practice and lectures on alternative dispute resolution processes and employment law issues at UU, QUB and the Southern Regional College, where he was also a member of the governing body and chair of the Staffing Committee for a number of years.
Scott qualified in mediation through the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland in 2010, under the tutelage of Dr Gerry Rooney, a former President of the MII and one of the most experienced mediators on the island of Ireland. Scott has been a co-trainer on subsequent mediator training courses with Gerry.
Scott continued to mediate on workplace disputes throughout his time at Legal Island and is a vice chair of the MII’s organisation and workplace liaison committee. Scott is also an active member of an MII sharing and learning group for experienced mediators and has lectured on alternative dispute processes at the MII conference. Scott developed and chairs the MII TED Talk Club. Scott has professional indemnity insurance for his mediation services.
Scott is an ILM Level Five Coach, specialising in workplace coaching for senior managers and has used coaching skills throughout his life.
Scott has been mentoring chief executives and senior officers on the CO3 Mentoring Programme in Northern Ireland for 10 years. Scott passed the OCNNI Level 2 Award in Mentoring Practice in 2021. Scott was appointed as an Independent Appeal Hearing Chairperson by the LRA in October 2024.