ACAS Early Conciliation has been compulsory in Great Britain since 6th May 2014.
What has been the effect of Early Conciliation on resolving work place disputes?
Before making a claim to an Employment Tribunal (ET) it is now necessary to complete an on-line form, the ACAS Early Conciliation Notification form, and allow ACAS to try to resolve disputes by speaking to the prospective Claimant and Respondent.
The statistics after the first 6 months show only 18% of complaints were settled by Early Conciliation by an agreement called a COT3, 24% became ET claims and 58% of potential claimant’s did not make ET claims. Not all claims would have yet reached their time limit of 3 months plus the additional Early Conciliation period of 1 month or a further 2 weeks if agreed between the employer and employee.
What are the reasons for the high number of potential Claimant’s taking no further action? Employers groups say Early Conciliation weeds out weak claims but the most likely reason for employees not seeking to enforce their legal rights in GB is the introduction of issue and hearing fees in July 2013.
The issue fee for an unfair dismissal or discrimination claim is £250 and for an unlawful deduction of wages or breach of contract claim it is £160. Hearing fees for unfair dismissal and discrimination claims are £950 and for wages or breach of contract claims are £230. Since the introduction of fees in ET cases the number of claims have fallen 70%.
Solicitors at Paul Doran Law find that this is having a serious impact on the ability of employees to bring claims and the introduction of Early Conciliation has done little to help the majority of employees who have suffered unlawful deductions from their pay, those who have been unfairly dismissed or have been unlawfully discriminated against at work.
Paul Doran Law can advise you on the prospects of you winning your employment law case and we have a range of funding options to assist you. We can support you through Early Conciliation and advise you on the appropriate amount of compensation. If your case is not settled by the Employer with ACAS conciliation we are specialist employment law solicitors and can represent you through the ET process and the hearing of your case.
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