Evaluation of Acas Collective Conciliation service

About the study

Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration service) works with employers and employees to support good workplace relations. It provides services, advice and support to employers and employees, with the aim of preventing and resolving workplace disputes. Collective Conciliation is one of the primary services offered by Acas, and aims to help resolve employment disputes between employers and groups of employees (usually through trade unions and other representative bodies).

Acas have asked The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out research with employers and employee representatives who have used the Collective Conciliation service. The research seeks to understand:

• The quality and effectiveness of the delivery of the Collective Conciliation service. 
• What impact the service is having, by determining what processes work best.
• The lessons that can be learned from how the service is being delivered, and how this can inform future improvements.

What does the research involve?

The research will involve a telephone survey, lasting around 30 minutes. You can also choose to complete this survey online by visiting survey.natcen.ac.uk/acassurvey and entering the unique access code we sent to you in our email. After you complete the survey, we may also ask whether you would like to take part in an additional interview or focus group.

During the survey, you will be asked questions about your experiences of the Collective Conciliation service. This will include questions about the nature, and outcome, of the dispute. Your participation in this survey will help Acas understand the quality of the Collective Conciliation Service, and how it can be improved in the future.

Your participation in this research will be conducted in a confidential manner, and you will remain completely anonymous. We will not tell anyone else that you have taken part. We will write a report based on our findings, but we will not name any individuals or organisations.

Please see the Privacy Notice for more information. 

Who is carrying out the research?

The research is being carried out by NatCen, Britain’s largest independent social research agency. For 50 years, NatCen has been working with third sector clients and government to find out what people really think about the big issues faced by ordinary people. NatCen will conduct and analyse the survey and write a report for Acas.

Why have I been selected to take part?

You have been selected because Acas records show that you were involved, either as a representative of management, or of employees, in a workplace dispute that involved Acas’s Collective Conciliation Service. 

Why should I take part?

Taking part will help provide a reliable picture of the views of all users of the service – both employers and trade union representatives – and help improve the service in the future. Your contribution could help Acas to understand how it can fulfil its mission to ‘to make working life better for everyone in Britain’. 

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact us on acas.cce@natcen.ac.uk or call us free on 0800 652 0201.

You can also contact the Acas research team by email at research@acas.org.uk.

You can also visit the Acas website for more information about this research: https://www.acas.org.uk/collective-conciliation-evaluation

Privacy Notice

In this privacy notice, we explain the legal basis for data processing, who will have access to your personal data, how your data will be used, stored and deleted and who you can contact with a query or a complaint. Click here to view the privacy notice.