The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is expected to strongly support a scheme which would lead to a reduction in the number of claims against employers that make it to a full tribunal hearing.
The dispute mediator is set to announce that the vast majority – 98 per cent – of people making claims against their employers are open to attempting to reach a settlement under its early conciliation service, rather than by going through a full tribunal.
The new early conciliation scheme, which was rolled out on 6 April 2014, saw 4,000 applications received by Acas in its first month of being. Of these applications, all of them except for two per cent were willing to attempt to reach a settlement.
As of today, Tuesday 6 May 2014, it is compulsory for the majority of claimants to notify Acas prior to making an employment tribunal claim. Claimants will then be prompted to see if they are willing to reach a deal prior to beginning a full employment tribunal.
If they say that they are, the dispute mediation service will then contact the claimant’s employer to inform them that a complaint has been made, but that the staff member is open to negotiating a deal. Following this, Acas will broker the discussion if both the employee and the employer are willing to attempt to reach a compromise arrangement.
There are a number of exemptions to early conciliation, which include claimants whose employer has already asked Acas to become involved in the dispute and those who are making the claim alongside someone who has already been given an Acas early conciliation certificate number.
If an employer is taken to a full tribunal by an employee, the average cost has been estimated by Acas as being around £3,700. The early conciliation scheme pilot, on which the current scheme is now based, had an average cost for employers of around £480.
Acas chairman, Sir Brendan Barber, told The Telegraph: “Early conciliation is a free service that has given us the chance to help people resolve their disputes early and avoid the stress, cost and anxiety associated with the tribunal process. The number of people who have decided to give early conciliation a go since its launch has been encouraging.”
Following the introduction of fees to begin an employment claim – which could include unfair dismissal or sexual discrimination – the number of tribunals has fallen dramatically. The numbers of tribunals fell by 55 per cent in August 2013, the first month that fees were implemented, compared to the month prior.