"Purpose
This paper provides an overview of the evolving role of the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) across a forty year period against a backdrop of changing workplaces and institutional frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on the statistical and evaluation evidence together with policy commentary and employment relations literature to provide a commentary on the changing world of employment relations.

Findings
Two areas have dominated policy concerns over the period: patterns of employment disputes and the question of employment regulation. The paper argues that such a focus has stimulated some dramatic changes in the way disputes manifest in Britain, and at the same time left something of a policy vacuum in relation to the wide challenges and opportunities for improving conflict handling and the employment relationship. Through the prism of Acas' work the paper identifies some of the enduring features that are common to improving both collective and individual relationship at work.

Originality/value
The paper brings together evidence from different sources combined with the unique perspectives of Acas and its service users to draw and provide explanations for aspects of the changing face of the work."

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