Acas Areas of Research Interest

This is a timely moment for Acas to publish our first Areas of Research Interest (ARI).  

We are seeing fundamental shifts and challenges in employment relations, shaped by economic, social and demographic change. Workplace conflict remains a significant feature of working life – our 2025 landmark survey on the prevalence of conflict at work in Great Britain shows that 44% of people experienced workplace conflict in the previous 12 months. The legislative landscape for employment relations is also undergoing major reform through the Employment Rights Act and wider Make Work Pay agenda.  

These changes raise important questions for government, employers, workers, trade unions, and legal, HR and research communities. They also create high and growing demand on Acas services and increase pressure on the quality, timeliness and coverage of our evidence base. We need to answer vital questions about how our services meet current and future challenges, and how employers, workers and their representatives are adapting as the world of work evolves.  

Acas published its Strategy for 2025 to 2030 last year. Evidence is an essential part of supporting our strategy delivery: our strategy specifically flags the role it can play in helping employers develop healthy employment relations and manage conflict better. 

Acas has a longstanding and fruitful relationship with the independent research community and values the expertise that collaborations have provided. We want to capitalise on that and expand the ways in which we work with the wider evidence ecosystem. 

Our areas of research interest outlines the most pressing and important questions that we face over the next 3 years and the principles we will adopt in generating high quality insight to answer them. We hope this set of priorities will stimulate discussion, encourage independent research, and help connect external expertise with the evidence gaps we have identified. If you have ideas for projects and collaboration on questions of mutual interest, we would like to hear from you – please get in touch with us at research@acas.org.uk.  

Niall Mackenzie, Acas Chief Executive

Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is an arms' length body sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. We aim to improve organisations and working life through better employment relationships. 

We provide statutory dispute resolution services for collective and individual disputes, alongside a free national helpline, training services and extensive web guidance for the public. Acas services are independent, impartial and confidential.

This document sets out Acas's first Areas of Research Interest, aligned to our 2025 to 2030 Strategy. 

Acas's ARI summarises the most important research questions facing us over the next 3 years. 

The ARI will enable us to engage with the wider research ecosystem, including independent research organisations, partners and funders. This will stimulate new research with the potential to contribute to Acas's ambitions and, more generally, inform us how workplace conflict can be effectively prevented, managed and resolved. 

Acas research interests cover a mix of policy, operational and practice-focused topics. They include questions about:

• workplace behaviour
• organisational practice
• employment relations systems
• dispute resolution
• the design and delivery of Acas services

This document provides an intentionally high-level set of questions which is not intended to be an exhaustive or definitive list. 

We look forward to engaging with the research community and drawing on its expertise to develop the wider evidence base and help us understand and answer these questions. 

Who it is for

This ARI is primarily for researchers, funders and partners with interests in employment relations, workplace conflict, dispute resolution, organisational practice, comparative employment relations, labour market change and public service delivery. 

We hope it will be useful to those developing independent research proposals, identifying policy and practice relevance for funding bids, or seeking to understand where evidence could support Acas's strategic ambitions. 

We use the ambitions of the Acas Strategy 2025 to 2030 to frame our research questions. The ambitions are set out below. 

Ambition 1: Prevent  

Acas has a critical role to help employers, workers and their representatives prevent conflict arising in the first place. By 2030, we will: 

• grow the reach of Acas's content online by 50% – from 286 million appearances in search results in 2024 to 430 million in 2030
• strengthen our offer to all employers on how to create healthy employment relations, led by evidence and metrics of what works
• make Acas swifter, simpler and more efficient – target the sectors where prevention is most likely to prevent conflict and dispute 

Ambition 2: Manage

If conflict cannot be prevented, Acas will be there to help employers, workers and their representatives manage it. We will help Britain disagree well by building conflict management confidence and capability. By 2030, we will: 

• have at least 90% of customers – both employers and workers – saying Acas improved their ability to manage conflict  
• double the number of small and medium-sized businesses Acas equips to better manage conflict, led by evidence and metrics of what works
• reduce the average cost-per-query for our helpline service by 20% 

Ambition 3: Resolve

If individual or collective conflict continues, Acas will help parties resolve disputes quickly and fairly, reducing stress, duration and cost. By 2030 we will:  

• sustain our record high settlement rates of above 70% for individual and 90% for collective conciliation, even as demand rises 
• use our expert voice to support labour market reform, including improvements to employment relations and dispute resolution mechanisms  
• reduce the average cost per individual dispute resolution case by 20% 

The questions below are framed through Acas's strategic ambitions, but their relevance extends beyond Acas's own services. They invite research into the behaviours, experiences, organisational practices and institutional, regulatory and labour market contexts that influence workplace conflict and employment relations outcomes, drawing on the perspectives of employers, workers and their representatives. 

We know that effective management and leadership capability in handling workplace conflict are important components of wider important themes within business and management research including productivity and economic performance. We welcome empirical, comparative and interdisciplinary research, including evidence from other countries and policy systems, where this can help identify what works, for whom and in which contexts.  

Theme 1: Prevent  

1. What are the most cost-effective measures employers can take to prevent avoidable individual and collective workplace disputes? How does this vary by size, sector, worker characteristics, business age and labour market context? What are the costs, benefits and return on investment of early intervention to reduce avoidable conflict?  
2. What role do senior leaders and strategic organisational approaches play in preventing avoidable workplace conflict and supporting early identification and management of emerging issues? How can employers be encouraged to adopt these approaches, recognising differences in organisational types and contexts?
3. How can behavioural insights approaches be applied to prevent avoidable conflict at work? What sequencing and targeting is most effective for different sectors and types of employers?
4. What is the relationship between positive employment relations and outcomes such as productivity, performance, wellbeing, retention and absence? Through what mechanisms do good employment relations contribute to these outcomes, and how can the visible and hidden costs of workplace conflict be measured?
5. What are the contexts and causes of workplace conflict most likely to trigger early conciliation (EC) and employment tribunal (ET) claims? How does this vary by claim topic, economic conditions, claimant protected characteristics, occupation, income levels, respondent size, sector, age of organisation and labour market context? What impact do these have on outcomes?
6. Which employer behaviours in the workplace account for employment tribunals finding in favour of claimants? Do employers with these behaviours share any observable and predictable characteristics – for example, identifiable by AI analysis?
7. How can employers be encouraged and enabled to provide reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or long-term conditions? Which approaches best support employers and workers to identify, agree, implement and sustain adjustments in different workplace contexts? 

Theme 2: Manage

8. What organisational conditions, management approaches, and capability and actions are most effective in managing and de-escalating individual and collective conflict, including optimal use of organisational processes for positive, sustained outcomes?  
9. How can we best encourage a cultural shift in workplaces to make better use of early and informal resolution processes for conflict?
10. How can conflict management approaches, including informal and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, help employers and workers manage individual and collective conflict earlier and more effectively? What are the benefits and cost-effectiveness of different approaches for different kinds of issues and employers?  
11. What are the most effective learning interventions to build HR, line managers' and trade union representatives' conflict resolution skills? How does this vary by type of employer and role?
12. How are digital tools and AI changing the way workplace conflict is identified, managed and resolved? What evidence is needed to ensure these tools are fair, effective, accessible and trusted? 

Theme 3: Resolve

Effective dispute resolution systems and processes:

13. What does the empirical evidence tell us about the characteristics of effective individual and collective workplace dispute resolution? Which processes, behaviours and institutional arrangements are associated with timely, fair and sustainable outcomes, and for whom? How might these need to change in response to changes in worker expectations and attitudes to conflict?
14. What does comparative evidence tell us about the features of effective workplace dispute resolution systems in other countries and policy areas? What can Great Britain and Acas learn from different institutional, legal and workplace approaches, including those used in comparable economies or different nations and regions in Great Britain?
15. Where and how might incentives, mandation or sanctions support informal or formal individual and/or collective dispute resolution processes effectively? 

Fair outcomes and support for different users:

16. How can Acas tailor the early conciliation process to enable rapid resolution for users with different needs?
17. What kind of support is needed by unrepresented claimants using public dispute resolution services, and how can Acas encourage effective third-party provision?
18. How can Acas promote better understanding of the disability discrimination jurisdiction among claimants?
19. Which claimant, claim, respondent and case characteristics are associated with settlement through early conciliation, and to what extent can settlement outcomes be predicted, including through appropriate use of AI analysis? How can Acas respond fairly and proportionately where parties make repeated or potentially misconceived claims while maintaining access to justice?
20. How can employers manage disciplinary and grievance matters fairly and proportionately while protecting wellbeing, maintaining accountability and minimising avoidable harm? 

Engagement, efficiency and future demand:

21. How should employers, workers and Acas respond to developments in capability and use of AI in internal and statutory dispute resolution processes?
22. How can Acas encourage employer engagement in the early conciliation process?
23. How can Acas maximise efficiency in early conciliation case handling?
24. How can Acas better understand the role of broader contextual factors and societal changes in predicting demand for Acas services? 

Acas will draw on a range of complementary principles, resources and guidance to direct and deliver research we commission and undertake internally. Our aims are as follows.

Prioritise and deliver research which is robust, proportionate and relevant

We will achieve impact through helping external partners and Acas colleagues make decisions about system reform, service improvement and investment. This aligns with the first goal of the Government Social Research Strategy 2025 to 2029.

Embed a test and trial approach to service innovations, ensuring that we can demonstrate their impact

Our Acas Strategy and our research principles align with key elements of the Government Analysis Function's Strategy for Analysis in Government 2025 to 2028 notably in our shared focus on prevention and evaluation.

Build innovation and efficiencies through capturing better information on our customers via Acas management information systems

We will strengthen the collection and use of customer information through Acas systems, reducing the need for separate primary data collection where appropriate, and supporting Acas's refreshed Data Strategy.

Deploy high-quality, ethical and innovative research methods and tools

We will use appropriate research methods, data sources and analytical tools – including AI where suitable – to generate robust, proportionate and relevant evidence. We will ensure that new methods are used transparently and responsibly, with appropriate attention to research quality, ethics, data protection, accessibility and the limitations of the evidence. 

We welcome contact from researchers, research organisations and funders who: 

• have existing evidence relevant to one or more of these questions
• are developing research proposals aligned with Acas's priorities
• can point us to useful studies, datasets, methods or international evidence
• want to explore how independent research could inform workplace practice, dispute resolution, guidance or service design
• can identify important evidence gaps, emerging issues or relevant research questions not fully captured in this ARI 

Please contact research@acas.org.uk with a short summary of:

• the evidence, idea or proposal
• the ARI question it relates to where relevant
• any relevant timelines

We will route enquiries internally and may follow up where there is a strong fit with Acas priorities and available capacity. 

This ARI is not a funding call or an invitation to tender for specific research projects. It is not a guarantee of commissioning, partnership or endorsement. 

Acas regularly commissions research through established procurement routes. We may also support or advise on independently funded research where it aligns strongly with our priorities and where capacity allows. 

The main purpose of this ARI is to make our evidence needs more transparent and to make it easier for external research to inform practice, guidance, service design and employment relations outcomes. 

We will use this ARI to support engagement with the research community, funders and partners over the next 3 years. We expect the questions to evolve as Acas's evidence needs develop, new research emerges and the employment relations landscape changes. 

We welcome feedback on the questions set out here, including evidence we might have missed and emerging issues that should shape future versions of the ARI. Please contact us at research@acas.org.uk.