Press release
Government announces new appointment to Acas, March 2016
The government has announced the appointment of Michael Clancy as a new member to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service Council.
The government has today (23 March 2016) announced the appointment of a new member to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Council.
Michael Clancy joins Acas as an employee member. His appointment is for 3 years with the option of reappointment. Michael will take up his role from 1 May 2016.
Notes to editors
- Biography: Michael has been the General Secretary and Chief Executive of Prospect union since 2012, having been the Deputy General Secretary for the previous 8 years. Prospect represents 116,000 professional, managerial and technical staff, employed in central government, utilities, defence, telecommunications, nuclear decommissioning, air traffic control and science. He is the chief spokesperson and is responsible for the strategic direction and financial management of the union that employs 200 staff with over 4,000 representatives. Michael has also been an Employment Tribunal (ET) and then an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) member continuously since 1994. He was appointed to the EAT in 2002.
- Acas is an independent, non-departmental public body (NDPB) and the Acas Council is the overarching governance body for Acas. The Council consists of 12 members, including the chair, and membership is drawn from employer, employee and independent backgrounds. Acas aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. It provides three main services: * advice on workplace matters through a helpline which received just over 900,000 calls in 2014 to 2015 and a website with over 9 million visitors annually * conciliation services which help resolve disputes between employers and individual employees or groups of employees – last year Acas received 83,432 notifications of individual disputes and was involved in 1,371 collective disputes * tailored training and advice for individual organisations. In 2014 to 2015, Acas trained over 31,000 delegates.
- Acas is independent of ministers and is one of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) key partners. Its services contribute to delivering a competitive, efficient and effective labour market which supports economic growth and employment.
- This appointment was made following an open selection process in 2015 conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice and other guidance issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. BIS is currently running another campaign to appoint one further employee member and one Independent member to Acas Council.