Reducing conflict at work
By Dr. Natasha Hirst on 20 July 2026
The Faculty of Public Health has identified poorly applied disciplinary processes as a priority public health concern. Unnecessary and badly managed disciplinaries create wide reaching harm. Reducing workplace tensions and conflicts before reaching disciplinary stage has immense benefits all around.
Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz, President, Faculty of Public Health said, “the consequences ripple outward: damage to individual wellbeing, loss of trust in systems, avoidable sickness absence and the undermining of staff morale and retention. Taken together, these effects represent population-level harm with long-term consequences for the sustainability of the workforce, for service delivery and ultimately for the health of communities that rely on those services. It’s important to get these processes right – not only for employee health and wellbeing, but significant economic benefits too.
Transforming disciplinary processes
Inclusive and fair disciplinary processes should be core to every organisation’s EDI approach. Avoiding the escalation of lower-level conflicts is vital to this approach.
Disciplinaries that are automatically triggered by absences or performance issues are deeply problematic. This can impact on a wide proportion of the workforce, from disabled staff to carers or anyone experiencing a traumatic or significant life change. Victim-survivors of domestic abuse may find themselves facing punitive measures for a dip in performance and attendance, when they urgently need flexibility to flee abuse, access support or deal with police and courts. It’s easy to understand how disciplinaries can be entirely counterproductive and could be avoidable if only more supportive conversations had taken place much earlier.
The Faculty of Public Health highlight the power of addressing conflict before it reaches the disciplinary stage in their recent discussion paper. “NHS Wales, through Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, pioneered a programme that treated disciplinary investigations as a ‘last resort’ and introduced the concept of ‘avoidable employee harm.’ Within the health board’s pilot programme, this approach reduced investigation cases by 71%, prevented over 3,000 sickness absence days and saved more than £700,000 annually over 13 months.”
Andrew Cooper, lead author of the paper and Development Director for the Healthcare People Management Association Avoiding Harm programme, said, “the harm caused by poorly applied disciplinary processes is not incidental, it is built into the way many systems currently operate. We need approaches that are proportionate, compassionate and rooted in learning.”
Managing workplace adjustments
Different needs and workplace adjustment requests do not inevitably lead to conflict. Delays in meeting employees’ needs can lead to a breakdown in individual and team relationships and heighten the risk of disputes that result in Employment Tribunals (ETs). In October 2026, the time limit for making most ET claims will increase from 3 to 6 months. This is likely to increase disability discrimination claims, which have already risen sharply over the last year, especially for cases involving mental health and neurodivergence.
Equity and inclusion consultant, Zara Todd, specialises in disability leadership, facilitation and research. Todd believes that employers overestimate the likelihood of access clashes occurring in the workplace and notes that, “the fear of not knowing how to manage clashes can often stop employers doing what they should to support disabled staff in terms of flexibility and adjustments. Where access clashes in the workplace do happen, they tend to be a result of communication and process rather than people. The good news is that that means clashes are manageable and preventable.”
Although clear policies and processes are necessary for compliance and providing clarity for staff and managers, flexibility is also essential. Lack of understanding can cause unnecessary conflict.
Todd explains that tension arises when flexibility is framed around reasonable adjustments and disability, without context, “flexibility by employers is acknowledging that people are human beings and enables organisations to get the most out of the workforce. Clashes happen when employers and organisations are not clear about how, why and what can be requested as adjustments and by whom. Sometimes there might be inherent clashes around, for example, flexible working hours and core business hours. This is where organisational processes and communication become key, because where there is space and a structure for employees to share working patterns, tension decreases.”
Reframing negotiations
The Employment Rights Act 2025 gives new access rights to trade unions, which provides an opportunity to review how employers and trade unions can work positively together. Acas offers training, advice and a free service for managers and representatives to help prevent, manage and resolve conflict at work.
Kevin Rowan, Acas Director of Dispute Resolution, said “we know there is a conflict management skills gap in Britain, and our survey shows too many cases where employee representatives and managers are not effective enough at working with each other, leading to conflict and disruption. Effective relationships between employee representatives and managers can help build trust, prevent disputes and contribute to productive organisations.”
Coleg Gwent based Trade Union Education tutor, John James, advocates for a proactive organisational approach to reduce conflict around disability inclusion. His focus is on lifting the baseline level of inclusion and access in the workplace.
James said, “trying to support employers to understand the social model of disability is key but it’s a big challenge because the Equality Act definition is a medical one. One outcome is that employers take an individualistic and reactive approach, treating each case as a problem to address. Then comes someone else and you go through the whole procedure again, rather than organising the workplace so it’s accessible for all.”
The social model approach seeks to collectively identify and remove common barriers in the working environment. James believes the benefits are clear, “if you look at neurodivergence, at dealing with stress, take a more holistic viewpoint. Then a lot of time and money is saved, because you’re not dealing with as much casework, you’re not having to make sometimes quite expensive individual adjustments or deal with disciplinaries or potential tribunals. Rather, we’ve made broader adjustments, and that’s resolved many issues before they’ve emerged.”
The benefits of flexibility
Andrea Adams, owner of the Seagrass Beach Café in North Wales, has a team of 20-25 staff, 90% of whom are below the age of 25. The café is busy throughout the year and can be a high-pressured environment to work in. Over one third of the team are neurodivergent or disabled and Adams is quick to point out that a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work. If needs aren’t met, performance is impacted, risking complaints from customers or team members.
She explained, “we take the time to understand what works best for each individual so they can thrive in their role and contribute their strengths. In many cases, the adjustments are small. For example, some members of staff work better when tasks are broken down into manageable chunks rather than receiving long verbal lists of actions. Providing written instructions or prioritised task lists can make a significant difference to confidence, understanding, and productivity.”
When larger adjustments are needed, roles have been adapted to retain staff. “One employee joined us in a front-of-house position, but it became clear that the demands of the role were having a negative impact on their wellbeing. We discussed alternatives and agreed to trial a kitchen-based role. Since then, they have become a highly valued member of the team and have settled in an environment that better suits their strengths.”
Adams extends this flexible approach to working patterns, communication styles and the way feedback is provided to avoid misunderstandings or anxiety, “by listening, adapting and focusing on what enables people to do their best work, we create a more inclusive, supportive and productive workplace. The result is happier staff, improved retention, and a culture where people feel valued for who they are and what they bring to the organisation.”
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