The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is an independent organisation set up to impartially act as a liaison between employers and employees (whether current or former) in the event of some form of employment dispute. The aim is to achieve settlement of any such disputes.
Previously Acas became involved in employment disputes automatically after a claim had been issued in the Employment Tribunal. Parties could (and still can) contact an assigned Acas representative if they wished to discuss settlement.
However since 6 April 2014 there is a mandatory Acas early conciliation process which must be followed by most Claimants who wish to present a Tribunal claim. This means before a claim is issued in the Tribunal the Claimant must contact Acas first.
The aim of the government is to reduce the number of claims that proceed to Tribunal by imposing an obligation on parties to attempt early settlement.
There is a fairly specific procedure to be followed by a Claimant in contacting Acas by using the Early Conciliation form or telephoning them. There are also various rules relating to time limits as usually a Claimant will only have 3 months from the date of dismissal in which to bring a claim. A Claimant will always have one month in which to present their claim after the early conciliation period has ended.
Once the Claimant has contacted Acas then the conciliation officer will try to promote settlement for a period of one calendar month (this may be extended by up to 14 days).
There are benefits to having Acas involved. They are of course a neutral third party and there is no charge made for their conciliation services. However employers are not obliged to engage in the early conciliation process and can refuse to participate.
If you require more information on early conciliation please contact Marsha Robinson here.
