In this episode, we take a big-picture look at employee voice: why it matters now and what we need to do to strengthen it. As workplaces grapple with unprecedented change, what role should voice play in helping us to navigate the present and future challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic? We’re joined by Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, Paul Nowak, Deputy General Secretary of the TUC and Gill Dix, Head of Policy at Acas to discuss: -         What good voice really looks like -         What mechanisms workplaces need to harness it -         And what happens when they do - or don't Episode resources: Policy paper: Building back – making working lives better Policy paper: Consultation – a voice lost in a crowd Tailored support for your workplace: We offer tailored support for workplaces facing specific challenges. Call us on 0300 123 1150, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm or fill in our enquiry form. Transcript Sarah Guthrie Welcome to The Acas Podcast. Today we are looking at the big picture and panning out to look at employee voice. What is it? What role can it play in making our workplaces better? And how can it play that in building back better after and during Coronavirus? So it's big picture, meaty discussion for those interested in shaping the world of work. I'm here with Gil Dix who is Head of Policy at Acas and we're joined today by special guests Paul Nowak, who is Deputy General Secretary of the TUC and Neil Carberry, who is chief executive of the REC. Neil and Paul have both been really heavily involved in shaping the world of work through their organizations, but also as their role as Acas council members. So it's great to have you here with us today to have this discussion. Paul Nowak Hi Sarah  Neil Carberry Hi Sarah Sarah   So to kick us off, employee voice. Gill, I wondered if you could start off by describing what it is that we're talking about when we use words like employee voice? Gill Dix Yes, Sarah, thanks. And it's good to be here on the podcast. Yeah, I agree. The idea of employee voice is a slightly abstract term. It's actually quite a simple, essentially, a simple idea. It's about workers basically being able to have their say at work. But here comes the tricky bit, that having this say has to be part of a dialogue, I think. And that's really what makes for good employee voice. Now that can be sort of through organized voice. And we generally tend to term that collective voice and most commonly talk about the trade union movement, or through staff associations. And the focus is really on the impact of that voice on most or all of the workers in that workplace. But then we also talk about voice being very much an individual right or an individual entitlement, where people just are able to have their say at work, can talk to their managers, can raise their concerns, and really importantly, can share their ideas as well. I think with Paul and Neil today, it's going to be good to talk most about what we might think of as collective voice. But clearly the two issues do go hand in hand. Yeah, just a few more words, really, from me before we hear from others, but I was reading an article just the other night, which referred to voice as being mission critical at the moment. And I thought that was interesting. And I think I know what they're talking about, as we live through, rather than emerge from probably the COVID pandemic, there's a massive shake up in our social and working life. And I think worker voice is critical at the moment in creating balance and calm and continuity, but ultimately, in finding a resolution to how we regained where we were, and improve where we were maybe. I mean, for my mind, voice is and always has been mission critical. But I get what they're saying when they think it's mission critical now, the authors of that paper, I supp