Employers report benefits of resolving disputes through Acas

Independent research has found that Acas intervention in industrial disputes helps reach a settlement in over eight out of ten cases.

More than two-thirds (68%) of employers and trade unions questioned said that, without Acas help, the dispute would have taken longer to resolve, saving parties around five months. They also reported longer term workplace benefits from using Acas:

• around two-thirds said that their organisation was more effective at dealing with disputes (63%),
• six out of ten had better communication between management and workers (60%), and
• over half said that they had improved employment relations (55%).

The survey also revealed that it was the skills of the conciliator acting as the impartial third party which was one of the key influences over the likelihood of reaching an agreement to settle the dispute. And around a third of those that were asked said that it might have been beneficial to involve Acas at an earlier stage.