As part of the government’s aim to reduce employment litigation, a mandatory Tribunal pre-claim conciliation process is about to be introduced.

This early conciliation process was introduced on a voluntary basis on the 6th April 2014, and will be mandatory for most Employment Tribunal claims from the 6th May 2014.

What is early conciliation?

Early conciliation requires employees to submit an early conciliation form (EC form) to ACAS before bringing a claim. The EC form sets out the employee’s details and the details of their employer; however no information is required about the nature of their claim.

Once the EC form has been submitted and the prospective claimant has confirmed that they wish to undertake early conciliation (the employee does not have to participate any further in the process), ACAS will appoint a conciliator to the case. The conciliator will contact the employer, and ascertain whether they wish to participate in early conciliation (participation on the employer’s part is not mandatory either). Where both parties consent to undertake early conciliation, the conciliator will have one month to promote a settlement between the parties. If the conciliator thinks there is a reasonable prospect of achieving settlement ACAS can, with the consent of both sides, extend discussions for a further 14 days beyond the end of this one month period.Continue Reading Early Conciliation