In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), this privacy notice explains how your personal data will be processed, used and protected during your participation in this research. The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) is conducting this research on behalf of Acas.
What is the purpose of the research?
The purpose of this research is to develop, test and refine an evidence-based Conflict Competence Framework and associated assessment matrix for Acas. The framework is intended to support leadership development and organisational capability building by identifying the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to manage workplace conflict at different organisational levels effectively.
The research will be delivered in two phases: a scoping phase and a design and piloting phase. The initial scoping research involves interviews with Acas staff and organisations that are competent in managing conflict in the workplace. Your participation will help Acas understand what conflict competence looks like in practice, identify the competencies required by different workplace actors, and develop a practical framework that can be applied across a range of organisational contexts.
What is the legal basis for processing my data?
Acas is the data controller for this project and IES is the data processor. This means that Acas is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing personal data and IES will only process personal data in accordance with Acas’s instructions. The legal basis for processing data is Article 6(1)(e) UK GDPR, whereby processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller.
Research participants from organisations
You have been approached because your organisation has been identified by Acas and stakeholder groups as having experience relevant to workplace conflict competence. Participation is entirely voluntary, and consent to participate in the research will be collected separately.
Acas staff
Your name, role and organisational email address have been shared with IES for the purposes of contacting you about taking part in this project. Participation is entirely voluntary, and consent to participate in the research will be collected separately.
Who will have access to my data?
Acas may provide IES with your name, email address and relevant work-related information, for example, your role, organisation, organisation size and industry, for the sole purpose of inviting you to participate in the research. Only members of the IES research team will have access to your personal details and raw research data.
If you agree to take part, we will collect:
Research participants from organisations
- Your verbal responses during interviews, including your views on workplace conflict, what conflict competence means in practice, organisational approaches to managing conflict, factors that enable or hinder conflict competence, and the skills required at different workplace levels.
- Basic work-related information, such as your role, level of seniority, organisation type, sector, size of organisation and whether your workplace is unionised. This information will be used for analysis and not to identify you personally.
Acas staff
- Your verbal responses during interviews, workshops or feedback activities, including perspectives on the purpose, scope and intended outcomes of the framework, competency requirements and development needs.
- Basic work-related information, such as your role and responsibilities.
We do not intend to ask about special category data (such as health information, ethnicity or other sensitive matters). However, if you choose to share this information, IES will process this information only where necessary for the research, in accordance with Article 9(2)(j) and relevant safeguards under UK data protection law. Your data will be stored on IES secure servers, and it will not be transferred outside of the UK.
How will my data be used?
- Interviews will be recorded with your explicit consent, gained before the interview, and notes will be taken using Microsoft Teams automated transcription.
- Access to recordings and transcripts will be restricted to authorised members of the IES research team. Recordings and transcripts will be stored securely and deleted in line with the retention period set out below.
- Your interview notes will be anonymised and combined with those of other participants. Data will be analysed to identify common themes, patterns and insights relating to conflict competence. Once information has been fully anonymised, it will no longer be personal data under UK GDPR.
- Findings will be reported in an aggregated form, and individuals will not be identified in reports or presentations. Acas will only receive anonymised and aggregated findings.
- All data will be stored securely on IES password-protected systems in accordance with data protection legislation.
How long will my data be kept?
Contact details, recordings, transcripts and identifiable interview notes will be securely deleted from IES systems no later than three months after the end of the project. The expected deletion date is July 2027, subject to confirmation of the final project end date. IES will retain anonymised analyses and research findings indefinitely for our records. Acas will retain anonymised reports and frameworks indefinitely for organisational learning and future framework development.
What are my rights over my personal data?
Under UK GDPR, you have rights over your personal data. These include the right to request access to your data, to ask for inaccurate data to be corrected, to request restriction of processing, to object to processing, and to request deletion of your personal data where applicable. Some rights are limited once data has been anonymised and included in aggregated research findings.
You may request the withdrawal of your personal data up to two weeks after your interview; after this time, it will be anonymised and incorporated into aggregated analysis. Once data has been anonymised and combined with data from other participants, it may no longer be possible to identify and remove your contribution. To exercise your withdrawal rights or ask questions about participation, please contact the IES project manager using the details below.
Who can I contact with a query about how my data will be used?
Acas Data Protection Officer: [email protected]
Acas Project Manager: Emily Starling, [email protected]
IES Project Manager: Megan Edwards, [email protected]
Who can I contact with a complaint?
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent authority for upholding information rights. www.ico.org.uk