50th Anniversary of the Legal Framework in Belgium working for everyone 50th Anniversary of the Legal Framework in Belgium Brussels 23 April 2018 David Prince Chief Conciliator

Early history State funded third party help since the Conciliation Act 189 Employment Protection Act 1975 Established Acas and enshrined independence Prohibited charging Gave Acas no powers of compulsion

The Acas Council 12 leading figures Trade union representatives Governance Trade union representatives Independent members Business experts Representing the interests of employers and employees 3

Terms of reference Legislative terms of reference To promote the improvement of employment relations Acas mission statement To improve organisations and working life through better employment relations

Role of What do we do? Settle complaints about employee rights Prevent or resolve disputes between employers and their workforce Role of Encourage people to work together more effectively Provide information advice and training 5

Collective Dispute Resolution Conciliation: voluntary and parties retain the power of settlement (c700-800 a year) Mediation: parties retain the power but ask a third party to make recommendations which they agree in advance to consider (2 or 3 a year) Arbitration: parties agree to give up their power in advance and be bound by the decision of an independent arbitrator (c40 a year)

Collective conciliation “Where a trade dispute exists…Acas may…offer the parties…its assistance with a view to bringing about a settlement” S210(1) TULR(C)A 1992 Note “may” not “shall”

LEGISLATION FRAMEWORK FOR COLLECTIVE DISPUTES TRADE UNION ACT 2016  1-Threshold limits in industrial action ballots -50% turnout of eligible workers -40% turnout for essential public sector workers  must vote for action and 50 % turnout.   2-Notice of industrial action -extended to 2 weeks 3 –Expiry of industrial action ballots -6 months

Annual working days lost in UK (000’s) Trends in Collective Disputes Annual working days lost in UK (000’s) Source: ONS

Requests received by Acas for Collective Conciliation (2006-2018) Source: Acas MI data

And is it successful? In 88% of last year’s cases there was a settlement or the parties resumed negotiations Further improvements identified in Acas/workshops surveys. Independent research showed £90 saved to the economy for each £1 spent on collective conciliation

Economic Impact Survey Benefit Cost Ratio- £81.4  Both Internal and external impact assessed.   Survey results  - http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/k/j/Economic_Impact_of_Acas_20161.pdf

Ratings of Acas conciliators and the service overall This slide shows employers and trade unions ratings of the skills of Acas collective conciliators. The top lines (in red) are the % of employers who agreed that the conciliator displayed the trait/quality and the line beneath (in blue) are the trade union responses. It shows that conciliators across the board are viewed positively at the key skills needed for conciliation such as: Presenting issues in neutral language; - remaining impartial; - establishing a rapport etc. Note: for the areas where on the surface the results look less positive (e.g. calming the situation and explaining the relevant employment law), it’s likely that it’s merely the case that in many instances the survey respondent did not ‘agree’ as it wasn’t necessary in their particular case, rather than active disagreement that the conciliator had that quality. 89% of users (employers and trade unions) satisfied overall with Acas conciliation Source: Acas research (collective conciliation user survey, 2016)

Working with Acas Post-Dispute Part of the Settlement Agreement Key outstanding issues that need addressing Work on improving employment relationship/functions Diagnostic Approach Case Study

Improving Industrial Relations Workshop Diagnostic workshop on issues surrounding the industrial relations environment The framework for good industrial relations. Key relationship values to promote good industrial relations. Policies/practices/procedures. The negotiating process and associated training.

Workshops and projects Further support In-company training Website acas.org.uk Advice Tools and templates Mediation Helpline 0300 123 1100 E-learning Conciliation Workshops and projects

Questions