employment relations debates.

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WERS has been undertaken six times; most recently in 2011 (reporting in 2013).

A full range of WERS-related materials, information and advice, including a bibliography of secondary analysis, is available at the official WERS website: www.wers2011.info.

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Research papers 2015
•pdf Arbitration in collective disputes: A useful tool in the toolbox [819kb] Ref: 05/15
This report outlines the findings from the evaluation of Acas' Arbitration service. The research covers qualitative interviews with 13 users of the service, including Acas arbitrators, conciliators, employers and union representatives. The research showed that the numbers of cases have declined in recent years, but users continue to welcome it as an alternative means of collective dispute resolution.
•pdf Evaluation of Acas Early Conciliation 2015 [2Mb] Ref: 04/15
Matthew Downer, Carrie Harding, Shadi Ghezelayagh, Emily Fu and Marina Gkiza (TNS BMRB)
This report outlines the findings from the first evaluation of Acas' Early Conciliation (EC) service, which was launched in April 2014. The research centred on a representative (telephone) surveys of c.2,500 claimants, employers and representatives whose EC cases concluded September - November 2014. These were supplemented by a series of qualitative interviews with a broad range of these service users.
•pdf Towards a system of conflict management? [611kb] Ref: 03/15
Paul Latreille (Professor in Management, University of Sheffield) and Richard Saundry (Associate Professor in Human Resource and Leadership Studies, Plymouth University)
This report draws on data from an in-depth case-study of the management of conflict within Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Based on a survey of operational managers and over 50 interviews with key stakeholders, the research examines the extent to which a system of conflict management has been developed and early findings as to its impact.
•pdf Acas Helpline evaluation 2014 [3Mb] Ref: 02/15
Carrie Harding and Sarah Hingley (TNS BMRB)
Report on an evaluation of Acas' national telephone Helpline service, carried out by TNS BMRB, to monitor the performance of the Helpline and provide an understanding of how caller attitudes and satisfaction are progressing over time. The research comprised multiple cross-sectional surveys of a full range of callers - employers, employees and representatives - staggered across four waves, one in each quarter of 2014. This work builds on previous customer surveys carried out in 2011, 2009, 2007 and 2005 (see 15/12, 03/10, 03/07 and 02/05 below).
•pdf Payment of Acas Conciliated Settlements [808kb] Ref: 01/15
Rob Warren, Katie Spreadbury, Erica Garnett and Sarah Coburn (IFF Research)
This report fills an important evidence gap for robust data pertaining to payment of Acas COT3 settlements; this was under keen debate following recent concerns at the proportions of claimants who have not received the awards granted to them by Employment Tribunals. Acas therefore commissioned IFF Research to undertake this study of 1,500 claimants who had settled with a COT3 agreement in both PCC and IC cases to measure levels of payment and enforcement. The results confirm longstanding indications that employers are indeed more likely to pay when Acas negotiates a settlement, the survey evidence finding that more than 9 in 10 settlements were paid in full without the need for recourse to enforcement procedures.

Research papers 2014
•pdf An overview of employment relations in the Acas regions [2Mb] Ref: 14/14
John Forth (NIESR)
This report examines the nature of employment relations in each of the four broad geographical areas into which Acas' activities are organised (The South East of England; The South West, Midlands and Wales; The North of England; Scotland). It is based on data from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) series; a national survey of British workplaces and employees which provides a comprehensive account of the state of employment relations and working life in Britain. The WERS data are used to examine changes in each of the specified regions over the period 2004-2011, and to identify areas in which employment relations in each region differs from the Rest of Great Britain.
•pdf Headline estimates from WERS by Government Office Region [4Mb] Ref: 13/14
John Forth (NIESR) and Acas Research and Evaluation Section
This report comprises a set of analyses that use the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) to examine the nature of employment relations in each of the 11 Government Office Regions of Great Britain. An introductory section provides information on the data sources and methodology for producing the regional estimates; the tables of estimates following this introductory note are to be used by the reader is as a reference document. A separate accompanying report (Ref: 14/14, above) provides an overview of employment relations in the four broad regions into which Acas' activities are organised.
•pdf Young people's experiences in the workplace [689kb] Ref: 12/14
John Forth and Hilary Metcalf (NIESR)
The aim of this report is to provide up-to-date and nationally representative quantitative evidence on the attitudes and experiences of young workers, by analysing nationally representative survey data. Specifically, the research considers what young people look for in a job; which aspects of the working environment are most effective in engendering their organisational commitment and engagement; and which arrangements for employee voice give young people a sense of influence or involvement at work.
•pdf Researching the current and potential reach of Acas services : Employer and employee tracker surveys [1Mb] Ref: 11/14
Daniel Cameron, Anne Charlton and Michael Clemence (Ipsos MORI)
Research investigating awareness and use of Acas and its services amongst its two key audiences - employers and employees - with data based on a nationally representative telephone survey of employers and a face-to-face survey of employees. Both surveys looked at existing use of Acas together with a range of employment issues to identify where unmet employment relations service needs may exist and the level of confidence employers and employees have at dealing with these issues. The project forms part of a programme of work to find out more about the needs and ways to reach existing and new users of Acas.
•pdf Analysis of the nature, extent and impact of grievance and disciplinary procedures and workplace mediation using WERS2011 [795kb] Ref: 10/14
Stephen Wood (University of Leicester), Richard Saundry (Plymouth University) and Paul Latreille (University of Sheffield)
This research paper presents an examination of the nature and extent of disciplinary and grievance procedures and the use of mediation in British workplaces. It also explores their links to the incidence of grievances, disciplinary sanctions, dismissals, employment tribunals and employee attitudes. The analysis is based on the Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) of 2011, and comparisons with its immediate predecessor conducted in 2004.
•pdf An Evaluation of the Acas Model Workplace and Acas e-learning [1Mb] Ref: 09/14
Dorothy Berry-Lound and Dr Jane Holland (HOST Policy Research)
This research evaluates the Acas Model Workplace and Acas e-learning services, exploring users' characteristics and their experiences of using the tools, including their motivations for use, how they use and interact with the services, what they have done as a result of using the tools and how they would improve them. In addition the research looks at non-users of Acas e-learning, with a focus on their use of human resources and employment relations e-learning services more generally. The research employed online and telephone surveys with Acas Model Workplace users and Acas e-learning users and non-users; it also includes qualitative interviews with users of both services.
•pdf MacLeod and Clarke’s Concept of Employee Engagement: An Analysis based on the Workplace Employment Relations Study [477kb] Ref: 08/14
Joe Dromey (IPA)
This research paper draws on the latest Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) data to re-examine the four 'enablers of engagement' that David MacLeod and Nita Clarke described as lying behind successful engagement approaches in the 2009 MacLeod Report 'Engaging for Success'. Primarily based on statistical analysis of WERS 2011, it also draws on a literature review of research into employee engagement in order to look at how MacLeod and Clarke's 'enablers' have changed over time and how they vary across organisations and groups of employees. It also looks at how employer actions relate to the enablers of engagement, and the outcomes associated with them.
•pdf An evaluation of the impact of the internal workplace mediation training service [607kb] Ref: 07/14
Andrea Broughton, Stefanie Ledermaier, Annette Cox (Institute for Employment Studies)
A comprehensive evaluation of Acas Internal Workplace Mediation Training (which leads to the Certificate in Internal Workplace Mediation accreditation). The research took the form of a telephone survey with mediators who had attended courses and case studies of three organisations, of which two had participated in Acas' in-house training. It sought to examine the longer-term effectiveness of the mediation course for the trainees and also to gain an insight into the effectiveness of the in-house training for organisations.
•pdf Workplace dispute resolution and the management of individual conflict – a thematic analysis of five case studies [433kb] Ref: 06/14
Richard Saundry (Plymouth Graduate School of Management, Plymouth University) and Gemma Wibberley (iROWE, University of Central Lancashire)
Substantial policy attention, but fairly little academic research, has been directed at the ways in which organisations respond to workplace conflict - especially the potential for earlier intervention to facilitate conflict resolution through the use of alternative approaches such as mediation. This thematic review aims to provide new insights into the challenges faced by organisations in managing workplace conflict by drawing on data gathered from discussions with HR practitioners, line and operational managers, employee representatives, and trained mediators as part of five organisational case-studies undertaken between 2009 and 2011.
•pdf Acas Workplace Training Evaluation 2013 [3Mb] Ref: 05/14
Cat York, Sam Fettiplace and Dougal Jamieson (ORC International