More than one quarter of workers believe managers and employee representatives are ineffective at working together to prevent and resolve conflict, according to new Acas research that highlights a management challenge ahead of employment reform.
The survey, carried out by YouGov, found that 26% of employees feel management and employee representatives are ineffective at preventing and resolving workplace conflict. A further 31% said they do not have any employee representatives, such as a trade union, staff forum, or other mechanism, who could help prevent conflict.
Acas said the findings are significant because the Employment Rights Act 2025 gives new access rights to trade unions, making effective employer and union relationships more important. The government has consulted on a Code of Practice covering the new independent right of trade unions to access workplaces, which is expected to come into force in October 2026.
Kevin Rowan, Acas director of dispute resolution, said: “We know there is a conflict management skills gap in Britain, and our survey shows too many cases where employee representatives and managers are not effective enough at working with each other, leading to conflict and disruption.”
He added that effective relationships between employee representatives and managers can help build trust, prevent disputes, and contribute to productive organisations.
Workplace conflict is becoming a capability issue as well as an employee relations issue. Organisations may have policies, grievance processes, and legal advice, but the first line of prevention usually sits with managers, supervisors, employee representatives, and HR teams dealing with concerns before they harden into formal disputes.
The wider implementation burden created by employment law reform was examined in workers’ rights reforms raise employer pressure. Acas’s findings add a practical layer: new rights are harder to implement smoothly where communication channels and conflict management skills are weak.
Employers are already adjusting to reforms covering statutory sick pay, family leave, union recognition, whistleblowing protections, tribunal time limits, zero-hours-style contracts, and fire-and-rehire protections. Many of those changes will rely on managers explaining rights, recording decisions, handling objections, and escalating problems appropriately.
Conflict carries direct commercial costs. It can increase absence, turnover, tribunal exposure, management time, recruitment costs, and productivity loss. In heavily unionised or operationally complex environments, weak relationships can also raise the risk of collective disputes, reputational damage, and service interruption.
The issue is not limited to unionised workplaces. Acas found that nearly one in three workers reported having no employee representative mechanism. In those organisations, conflict may surface through informal complaints, exit decisions, sickness absence, social media, whistleblowing, or legal claims rather than structured dialogue.
Line managers are often the pressure point. Many are promoted for technical competence or operational reliability rather than conflict skills. They may receive limited training on difficult conversations, reasonable adjustments, grievance handling, union engagement, performance documentation, or how to distinguish conduct issues from wider cultural problems.
HR teams can help, but they cannot be present in every conversation. Organisations with dispersed sites, shift work, remote teams, or high staff turnover need consistent local management practice. Without it, policies are applied unevenly and employee trust can deteriorate quickly.
The new union access code will require careful handling. Employers will need processes for requests, meetings, communications, site access, data protection, and the balance between business operations and representation rights. Trade unions will also need relationships that support dialogue rather than immediate escalation.
The Acas findings point to more than a handbook update. Employers need trained managers, credible representation channels, early intervention, clear documentation, and a culture in which disagreement can be addressed before it becomes entrenched.
Employment reform is placing more weight on day-to-day management. Organisations with stronger conflict prevention systems will be better placed to absorb the legal and operational changes now approaching.
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