A member of the House of Lords who lives in Hove has been appointed as the new chair of the ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) council.
Maggie Jones, known as Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, 70, is a member of the House of Lords and has held several senior roles within the government and large organisations.
Her previous posts have included being a minister at the Department for Business and Trade, a director at Unison and numerous board and non-executive positions.
ACAS is funded by the Department for Business and Trade where the Secretary of State is the Labour MP for Hove and Portslade, Peter Kyle.
ACAS chief executive Niall Mackenzie said: “I am delighted that Baroness Jones will join ACAS as our new chair. Her varied experience will be invaluable in our role as independent, impartial and trusted employment relations experts.
“Maggie’s expertise will help ensure ACAS continues our crucial role within the world of work including the implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
“I also want to pay tribute to our current ACAS chair Clare Chapman whose stewardship saw a highly successful period where ACAS doubled its reach and helped more businesses and workers.”
Baroness Jones said: “It is a profound privilege to be taking on this role. ACAS is the leading authority in workplace relations whose purpose is to make working life better for everyone.
“It is a cause I have supported my entire professional career in my previous roles. The need for a strong successful ACAS that can build healthy workplace relationships and encourage productive organisations is more important now than ever.
“We are at a watershed moment as the Employment Rights Act comes into force. My focus will be ensuring that ACAS continues to help realise the human and economic benefits of renewed workplace relations.”
The current chair Clare Chapman is due to leave at the end of the month. She said: “I am delighted that Maggie will be stepping into the role of ACAS chair.
“She brings a wealth of experience and ACAS will continue to thrive under her leadership.
“The past six years has seen ACAS successfully transform the way in which we work, leading to millions more workers and employers accessing our services.
“Just 6 per cent of early conciliation notifications resulted in a tribunal hearing, saving time, money and further stress for all parties.
“I am proud to have helped deliver significant results for our customers and look forward to a future in which ACAS builds on that success to help prevent, manage and resolve conflict for many more at work.”
Baroness Jones added: “I want to thank Clare for the outstanding contribution, leadership and commitment shown during her time as chair.
“Her stewardship has seen achievements that have helped to reduce the impact of workplace conflict to the economy and within society.
“Under her leadership, ACAS has improved resolution rates for collective disputes to 93 per cent and 79 per cent of individual disputes handled by ACAS.
“She has also overseen a significant growth in people using ACAS and leaves a strong legacy on which to build.”
Baroness Jones is due to start on Wednesday 1 April and will serve a three-year term.
