* Early Conciliation Tony Cooper, Director, Acas South West

Early Conciliation – The background Long history of conciliation Pre-claim conciliation introduced in 2009 Very successful 24% formal settlement 50% no ET1 submitted Drawbacks? Often not enough time before ET1 due for submission to conciliate Only taken up by small percentage of those lodging ET1’s

Early conciliation Introduced April 2014 Aimed to address those two issues by: Requiring all potential tribunal claimants to notify Acas first of their intention to make a tribunal claim Providing for the expiry of the claimant's legal limitation deadline to be placed on hold for a period of time following the notification.

Early Conciliation– Myth No.1 Mandatory conciliation Obligation to notify Acas of intention to claim Web-based form Engaging with the conciliation process is voluntary Early conciliation support officers

Early Conciliation- Main features Following notification to Acas, the claimant’s limitation period for making a tribunal claim is put on hold. This “stop-the-clock” period allows conciliation to take place without the claimant needing to take legal steps to protect their rights It creates more time to explore settlement than now One calendar month initial period

Early Conciliation -Main features Provisions for both early conclusion, and extension, of the limitation pause If conciliation is unsuccessful we will issue a Certificate and the claimant can make a Tribunal claim Presenting in time remains the responsibility of the Claimant (not Acas) At least one calendar month to present after EC

Early Conciliation – Main features Case for life – an EC request is not a separate claim Conciliation can still take place after the limitation pause comes to an end but before a claim is submitted Conciliation offered after an ET1

Early Conciliation- How is it working? Volume of notifications:

Early Conciliation- How is it working? Engaging with the process:

Early Conciliation- How is it working? Early indications of outcomes

Early conciliation – impact on ET cases

Early Conciliation– Myth No.2 Acas should be “weeding out” the weak claims Acas conciliation is a “further barrier to justice” No regulatory power Conciliation is voluntary Inform, influence, persuade Only Employment Tribunal has power to strike out a claim

Early conciliation – impact on ET cases April – June ,792 single claims received 70% down on corresponding quarter in % down on previous quarter

Early conciliation – Benefits? Early resolution is: It is a free service, and overall costs are a fraction of those for Employment Tribunals (8% of costs for employers; 2% for employees) It is voluntary – there is no obligation to continue at any point in the process It is easier and less time consuming It’s a chance to avoid the stress, cost and anxiety of a tribunal claim

Acas is collating a contact list - For more information, contact: Engage with the process, particularly if you are likely to want a copy of the certificate at a later stage S18b notification Early Conciliation- Practical tips:

Early conciliation – where next? Employment Tribunal decisions starting to emerge Exemptions Timescales for entering a ET claim Unison judicial review? General election? Labour proposals to review fees announced at Autumn conference

Early conciliation – where next? Continue to work with BIS to refine aspects of the policy framework of the service Continue to learn how conciliators can best focus their efforts to meet the needs of parties Research next year – to tell us more about the contribution we make to dispute resolution over and above the COT3 settlement, and the factors that influence the behaviours of the parties to the dispute.

Acas contact information Acas website – ECSO team

How Acas can help mediation training e-learning website acas.org.uk publications Customer services team Acas helpline

BIS Growth Vouchers Acas services can be purchased with a Growth Voucher Cover half the cost for advice and support up to £2,000 Who’s eligible: Co. size fewer than 250 fte Turnover less than £45 million Two areas of work: “improving management & leadership skills” “recruiting and developing your workforce” Apply for vouchers before end March 2015 Work to be completed before end June