1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Collective Dispute Resolution
Conciliation: voluntary and parties retain the power of settlement (c 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)

7. 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”

8. 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

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

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

11. 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

12. Economic Impact Survey Benefit Cost Ratio- £81.4
 Both Internal and external impact assessed.
Survey results  -

13. 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)

14. 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

15. 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.

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

17. Questions