Acas Adviser

Are you interested in learning about Employment Law?

Do you enjoy helping people?

Are you interested in working with a diverse range of customers?

Do you want to make a difference to working lives in Great Britain?

If so, the Acas Adviser Role could be perfect for you.

The Acas Helpline is a fast-paced telephone-based advice service and often a customer’s first experience of Acas. People generally contact Acas when they have encountered a problem at work and need advice and guidance on what options are available to help resolve the problem. Our customers can range from HR professionals with a lot of experience, to employers needing professional advice, through to extremely vulnerable workers at risk of exploitation.

A 12-week comprehensive training programme will be provided therefore no prior Employment Law experience is required.

The Adviser Role:

• Delivers impartial employment law advice to required standards across relevant channels, tailoring it to individual needs.
• Deciphers complex information asks relevant questions to establish the root cause of an issue to ensure appropriate advice is provided.
• Identifies appropriate options and communicates clearly next step guidance, tailoring it to individual customer needs.
• Referring on to other Acas areas or other government services.
• Promotes Early Dispute Resolution utilising appropriate online guidance.
• Manages conflict understanding the customer needs and circumstances.

Accountabilities include:

• The effective and efficient delivery of impartial employment law advice through appropriate channels to agreed call quality standards.
• Acting independently, impartially, confidentially and with sensitivity always, and in accordance with Acas policies and principles.
• Maintaining and developing own knowledge and skills through Continuous Professional Development (CPD)to ensure high-quality advice and service is provided to customers.
• Effectively engage in coaching, and other activities to maintain and enhance performance in the role.
• Collaborate effectively with colleagues to share knowledge and expertise.
• Promoting the benefits of early dispute resolution, influencing callers appropriately.
• Identifying appropriate referrals, both to other Acas services and to external organisations such as the enforcement agencies.
• Follow schedule requirements through the principles of “right place, right time” to contribute to the effective delivery of a point of demand telephone service.
• Promote customer participation in the Customer Survey to contribute to Acas’s organisational understanding of our customers.
• Collate accurate data regarding the nature of customer calls.

Who we are

Acas exists to make working life better for everyone in Britain. We are the experts in workplace matters, we’re impartial, so we’re not on anyone’s side. That means we’re working for everyone to help prevent, manage and resolve workplace issues.

Acas helps employers and employees by providing information, advice, training, conciliation and other services that prevent, manage or resolve workplace problems.

Acas: Britain’s Workplace Experts

Acas has been recognised for its Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace from the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion awards; it has been Disability Confident Highly Commended, a Pay Gap award winner, and an Overall winner for public sector organisations. Acas is committed to providing services and developing policies which embrace diversity, promote equality of opportunity and eliminate unlawful discrimination.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to apply

Please click on the 'Apply now' button.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• A 250-word statement on the following Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing and Making Effective Decisions.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the -

• Lead Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift of all the above requirements or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

If a large number of applications meet the minimum standard an interview wait list may be created for this position. This means that if you have met the minimum requirements at sift you may be placed at a ‘Hold’ status for up to 12 months and if we are able to invite you to an interview we will be in touch.

Interview Details

If you have successfully passed sift, you will be invited to an interview via MS Teams which is likely to take place either week commencing 16 November or 23 November please note this is subject to change.

The interview will be a Strength and Experience interview and will also include an exercise to assess Experience. Details of the exercise will be sent in advance of the interviews. The following Essential Experience criteria will be assessed at Interview –

• Overcoming challenges and defusing conflict.
• Ability to work at pace within a busy environment.
• Able to interpret information to identify relevant details - Assessed via the Interview Exercise

A location based reserve list will be created for this position; this means that if you have passed the interview, but we cannot immediately offer you this position, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months and may be considered for similar positions during that time.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader, Acas is committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. If you have a disability and feel that any part of the recruitment process puts you at a disadvantage, we will work with you to make Reasonable Adjustments that support your needs. If you require any changes to help you apply:

• Please contact the Acas Recruitment Team via HRrecruitment@acas.org.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the “Assistance Required” section on the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to let us know about any adjustments or support you may need during the recruitment process. For example, this might include accessibility arrangements for entering a building or interview room, communication support, modifications to assessment methods, etc.
• You can find out more about the Disability Confident Scheme and Reasonable Adjustments by clicking these links.

Want to learn more about Civil Service recruitment? You can find out more on Civil Service Careers, including information on Success Profiles, writing a Personal Statement, acceptable use of Artificial Intelligence, and what to expect at Interview.

For applicants requiring a visa to work in the UK

Please be advised that Acas does not hold a UKVI Sponsorship Licence, so we cannot consider sponsoring a visa applicant or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.