Mediation is used whenever and wherever negotiation has failed or is in need of assistance.
These are just some examples from Scotland:
Agriculture and farming (eg landlord and tenant matters, rights of access, use of land)
Banking, insolvency and financial services (eg disputes between customers and banks over lending or other complaints, debt recovery)
Construction and engineering (from major infrastructure projects like the Edinburgh trams to individual house-building and extension works)
Contracts (all manner of commercial and other dealings)
Employment and Workplace (individual disputes between employee and employer, team and other group dysfunction, conflict between managers, difficult union/management negotiations)
Family (from disputes over access to children to the allocation of property on separation or divorce to family business arrangements)
Government, local authorities (legislative errors, waste management schemes, flood control, planning, environment, provision of services, local community issues)
Health services (allegations of medical negligence, complaints about care, consultant/consultant conflict, management/workforce relations)
Higher education (student complaints, research projects, staff/management matters, funding)
Homelessness (mediation services exist in a number of areas to help prevent homelessness)
Housing (a home owner housing panel resolving disputes between homeowners and factors, application of the NHBC scheme)
Insurance (compensation claims of all sorts, allegations of professional negligence against all manner of professionals)
Landlord and tenant (disputes over leases, rent, dilapidations)
Neighbourhood and Community (multiple occupancy, nuisance, boundaries, noise, use of open space, conflicting views on use of limited resources)
Schools (the use of peer mediation is a real success in a number of locations in Scotland, Assisted Special Needs Mediation helps resolve concerns and differences parents may have with schools and education authorities over the education of their children)