An Evaluation of Homeworking in ACAS

The 90s saw a gradual increase in the number of ACAS staff working at, or from, their home.

This growth has been most prevalent among conciliation staff whose working methods, consisting primarily of telephone contact with parties to employment tribunal cases, are well-suited to the flexible arrangements that home-based working can provide.

Yet the growth in numbers of home workers, accompanied by a degree of regional variation in practices, have presented particular management and administrative challenges to ACAS, suggesting the need for a more formal policy based approach to the management of this mode of working.

To assist in this policy development process, ACAS commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to conduct a wide-ranging investigation of homeworking in ACAS, examining both for trends in working arrangements and attitudes to office and home based work.

The findings were set within the context of a discussion on developments in homeworking over the last quarter of the 20th century, including a review of research literature relating to the subject.