What Acas does

Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is a UK non-departmental public body established in 1975 that provides free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules, and best practice to both employers and employees across Britain. Headquartered in London at 14 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, with regional offices throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the organisation serves a horizontally diverse user base that includes individual employees, employers of all sizes, HR professionals, and trade unions. Its core service portfolio comprises four interconnected offerings: Advice (free guidance on employment matters), Templates (adaptable letters, forms, and policy documents), Dispute Resolution Services (including Early Conciliation, Collective Conciliation, and Arbitration), and Training (paid courses, events, and tailored support). The organisation also publishes statutory Codes of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, settlement agreements, and trade union duties, together with research publications covering employment law, diversity, productivity, and workplace conflict.

The organisation operates a multi-channel service delivery model anchored by a national helpline (0300 123 1100), the acas.org.uk website, and a separate training booking platform at obs.acas.org.uk, supported by an email newsletter with 180,000 subscribers and an active social media presence across Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. As a statutory body established under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, Acas holds a unique legal mandate that generally requires parties to use its Early Conciliation service before bringing most employment tribunal claims. The organisation is largely funded by the UK Department for Business and Trade, with supplementary revenue generated through paid training courses, conferences, and tailored workplace support programs.

Acas has recently announced exploration of AI and digital services to expand access to its advisory offerings and is collaborating with the newly established Fair Work Agency on employment rights enforcement. It also produces dedicated guidance on the phased Employment Rights Act 2025 changes and continues to broaden its training catalogue into categories such as equality and wellbeing, conflict management, and the future of work.

Name

Acas

Legal name

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

Website

https://acas.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Acas is a UK non-departmental public body that provides free, impartial advice on workplace rights, dispute resolution, and training to employers, employees, HR professionals, and trade unions across Britain, funded primarily by the Department for Business and Trade.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As a non-departmental public body, Acas is largely funded by the Department for Business and Trade. Core advisory and conciliation services are provided free of charge.
2. Training Services: Acas generates revenue through paid training courses, events, conferences, and tailored workplace support programs delivered both online and in-person across the UK.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Acas delivers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules, and best practice to employers and employees, supported by free templates (letters, forms, policy documents) and free dispute resolution services including Early Conciliation, Collective Conciliation, and Arbitration. It also generates revenue through paid training courses, events, conferences, and tailored workplace support programs delivered both online and in-person across UK regions, alongside statutory Codes of Practice and research publications.

Product overview

Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is a UK non-departmental public body that provides a unified suite of free workplace advisory services. The offering consists of four interconnected core services: Advice (free guidance on employment rights and best practice), Templates (adaptable letters, forms and policy documents), Dispute Resolution Services (conciliation to resolve workplace problems including Early Conciliation, Collective Conciliation, and Arbitration), and Training (courses, events and tailored support on employment topics delivered both online and in-person). Acas also publishes statutory Codes of Practice and provides Research and Commentary publications. The training portfolio spans multiple categories including Workplace Procedures, Essentials for Employing People, Equality and Wellbeing, Conflict Management and Leadership, Change and Consultation, and Trends and the Future of Work, with offerings ranging from public courses to conferences, network forums, and mock events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advice Free advice on employment rights, rules and best practice provided to UK employers and employees via the website, helpline, and publications.
• Templates Free letters, forms, and policy documents that UK employers and employees can adapt for their workplace needs.
• Dispute Resolution Services Conciliation services helping resolve workplace problems without going to an employment tribunal, including Early Conciliation, Collective Conciliation, and Arbitration, available to employers and employees.
• Acas Codes of Practice Statutory codes providing practical guidance on disciplinary and grievance procedures, flexible working requests, settlement agreements, and trade union duties.
• Training Courses, events, and tailored support on employment topics, delivered both online and in-person across multiple UK regions, covering workplace procedures, equality and wellbeing, conflict management and leadership, change and consultation, and trends in the future of work.
• Conferences and Network Forums In-person and online conferences and network forums for HR and employment relations professionals, delivered through the Acas training platform.
• Mock Events Mock training events including mock appraisals, mock investigations, mock redundancy processes, and mock disciplinary hearings, used for skills development by HR and management professionals.
• Research and Commentary Research publications covering contracts and working arrangements, diversity and inclusion, productivity and management, technology in the workplace, wellbeing at work, and workplace conflict, available to employers, employees, and policymakers.
• Employment Rights Act 2025 Guidance Information and guidance on employment law changes implemented and expected under the Employment Rights Act 2025, targeted at UK employers and employees.

Quantifiable outcome

• One in three employers surveyed by Acas are likely to implement staff redundancies by early 2027, highlighting need for early consultation support
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Fair Work AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2026Acas is working with the newly established Fair Work Agency to make employment rights easier to understand and uphold. The Fair Work Agency is a new government organization that will work alongside Acas to improve work life for UK workers.
• CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcas collaborates with the CIPD on training programs, including 'Working effectively with trade unions' course, combining Acas's conciliation expertise with CIPD's HR professional development resources.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Citizens Advice: UK non-departmental public body that provides free, impartial advice to individuals (and some employer-facing services). Operates a comparable model of government-funded free advice, helpline, website self-help, and policy advocacy, making it the closest structural peer to Acas.
• CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development): UK professional body for HR and people development that offers training, accreditation, and research on employment matters. Already an Acas partner, CIPD directly competes for paid employer training while complementing Acas's advisory function.
• Peninsula Group: UK-based commercial provider of employer-side HR, employment law, and health & safety advisory, including 24/7 advice lines and document services. The leading private-sector alternative to Acas's free advisory service for SME employers.
• Citation Group: Commercial provider of HR, employment law, and compliance advisory to UK employers, including on-demand advice, document generation, and training. Competes head-on with Acas for the SMB employer segment where free advice against paid alternatives is a clear trade-off.
• Lewis Silkin: UK employment law firm offering advisory, dispute resolution, and tribunal representation. Operates in the same employer/employee employment-relations space as Acas, with paid services spanning the cases Acas conciliation is designed to deflect.

Broad incumbents

• Eversheds Sutherland: Global law firm with a substantial UK employment, pensions, and immigration practice advising employers on workplace relations, restructuring, and tribunal defence. Provides higher-tier commercial overlap with Acas's advisory and dispute resolution remit.
• PwC UK - People & Organisation: Big Four advisory practice providing HR transformation, workforce consulting, and employment-relations advisory to enterprise clients. Competes with Acas's paid training and tailored advisory services at the larger-customer end of the market.
• Deloitte UK - Human Capital: Big Four consultancy providing HR strategy, workforce transformation, and employment-relations advisory to enterprise and public sector clients. Overlaps with Acas's employer advisory and research remit at scale.

Regional players

• ACAS-equivalent: Fair Work Ombudsman (Australia): Australian statutory agency that provides free workplace advice, investigates complaints, and conciliates employment disputes. The closest international functional analogue to Acas, operating in a different jurisdiction with similar mandate.
• Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service - Ireland (Workplace Relations Commission): Irish statutory body with a near-identical Acas-style mandate - free workplace-relations advice, conciliation, and adjudication. Functionally analogous peer in a neighbouring but separate jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acasorguk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/acasorguk
• Facebookfacebook.com/acasorguk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Acas