Early conciliation is when ACAS talks to both you and the respondent about your dispute. It gives you the chance to come to an agreement without having to go to an employment tribunal.
Time limits for making a claim
There are strict time limits for making a claim to an employment tribunal. In most cases, you have 3 months minus 1 day from the date the problem at work happened.
Some types of claim are ‘exempt’ from (do not have to go to) early conciliation. We cannot advise whether your claim is exempt.
Find out more about:
Stages of early conciliation
- When you inform ACAS you want to start a claim they’ll ask if you want early conciliation, they’ll ask for some details about the dispute.
- If you don’t, they’ll give you a certificate so you’ll be able to go to an employment tribunal they’ll send you a confirmation email or letter with your reference number.
- They’ll review the information you have provided – if we need to check anything or get more information we’ll call you, if you cannot use a telephone they’ll email you.
- Once ACAS have all the information they need, they’ll assign your case to one of their conciliators.
- Your conciliator will speak with you or your representative to understand your dispute and how you want it to be resolved. If you agree, they’ll contact your employer to see if they’re willing to take part in talks.
- If they are, your conciliator will talk with each of you to see if you can reach an agreement.
Tell your conciliator if you’ve changed address or do not want it shared with your employer.
What conciliators do
Conciliators are impartial. This means they’re independent of the dispute, they’re will try to resolve the dispute without it going to an employment tribunal.
Conciliators can:
- explain their role and the conciliation process
- discuss the issues with both sides
- give an overview of the relevant law
- explore how both parties could resolve the dispute without going to tribunal
- discuss how employment tribunals have considered similar cases
Conciliators are not able to:
- represent either side
- tell you whether to agree on a settlement
- say how strong or weak your case is
- help you prepare your case for tribunal
- make a judgement on how your case could turn out
For this, you might want to instruct a solicitor
If you reach an agreement
Once you and the respondent reach an agreement, ACAS will write up what you agree in a conciliation agreement (COT3). This is a legally binding agreement.
It’s important that it’s right for you. Once you and the respondent agree to it, you’ll have to keep to it – even if you have not signed it yet.
You will not be able to take your case to tribunal if the case is settled in early conciliation, even if you’ve made a tribunal claim. The case will be closed and there will be no hearing.
If you do not reach an agreement
After early conciliation, ACAS will give you a certificate with a number on it. You need to put the number on employment tribunal form ET1, which you use if you decide to make a claim.
Time limits after early conciliation
If you’ve notified ACAS within your time limit, you’ll have at least 1 month from the date you received the certificate to make your claim to the employment tribunal.
In some cases, you might have longer than 1 month to make a claim to the employment tribunal. Working out the exact time limit can be complicated. You might want to get legal advice
It’s your responsibility to make sure you make your claim to the tribunal in time. Only a tribunal can decide whether the claim is in time or not. ACAS conciliators cannot decide or advise on this point.
Talks up to and during the tribunal claim
You and the respondent can still talk through ACAS up to and during the tribunal, until a judgement is made. This is known as ‘conciliation’ (rather than ‘early conciliation’).
Conciliation will not affect the outcome of a tribunal and ACAS will not share anything you discuss with anyone else without your permission.
If early conciliation or conciliation does not resolve your dispute and the tribunal continues, your case will be heard in public and a decision will be made by a judge.