Sara Gorton has been appointed Director of Dispute Resolution at Acas.
Sara will lead Acas's work across the country to resolve workplace disputes. She joins from UNISON, where she is Regional Secretary for London with responsibility for providing industrial relations to around 130,000 public service workers in London.
Acas Chief Executive, Niall Mackenzie, said:
"I am pleased to welcome Sara to her new role in January. She brings a wealth of experience in employment relations and dispute resolution that will be invaluable to Acas.
"Sara will head up Acas's excellent dispute resolution service that helps to prevent costly and distressing court action for tens of thousands of employers and workers. It also helped resolve 93% of collective disputes between employers and groups of workers over the past year."
Sara Gorton said:
"I am delighted to be joining Acas, and supporting workers and employers to prevent, manage and resolve conflict at work.
"Difficult relationships can have a detrimental impact at work, and I've seen first-hand how skilled, constructive discussion can resolve the thorniest workplace conflicts.
"Acas has independent and impartial experts that have an excellent track record in resolving disputes. I am really looking forward to working with them to build on their success and improve working life."
In 2025 to 2026, Acas conciliated in over 400 collective disputes and resolved or progressed 93% of them.
Acas received over 150,000 early conciliation notifications in 2025 to 2026 for its individual dispute resolution service, which helps to resolve potential tribunal claims. Over 9 out of 10 cases handled by Acas were resolved, which helped to avoid unnecessary stress and cost for both sides.
Media enquiries
Background notes
- Sara has spent the last 25 years at UNISON, the UK's largest trade union. She led collective bargaining and workforce policy for the NHS trade unions, working with government and employers. Since early 2025 she has been Regional Secretary in London, responsible for industrial relations services for around 130,000 public service workers in the capital.
- Read Acas's latest annual report 2025 to 2026