August 08, 2011
ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, has been reflecting on its past year of service concluding that large scale industrial disputes were on the rise. It confirmed that it dealt with over than 1,000 collective disputes, which represents an increase of 15% on the previous year. Although they went on to confirm that nine out of 10 of such cases were either resolved or unions and companies moved towards a deal. In addition almost 18,000 cases concerned disputes between individuals and their employers.
Chairman of ACAS, Ed Sweeney, said “We've had another busy year with increased use of our services. There have been a number of high-profile collective disputes and it's encouraging to see employers and trade unions willing to get round the negotiating table to reach agreement. The success of our pre-claim conciliation service was highlighted by the Government's proposal to expand it in their resolving workplace disputes consultation. We know that tackling issues in the workplace as early as possible can save time, money and stress for all involved.”
ACAS, which is largely funded by the Department for Business Innovation amp; Skills, is a non-departmental body, governed by an independent Council. It offers a number of services including guidance notes and resources on its website and the use of a helpline which is open to employers, employees or representatives. Over the past year the helpline has answered almost a million calls on a variety of employment law issues.
