New service that aims to settle work disputes early attracts 4,000 people

FOUR thousand people have tried a new service which aims to save taxpayers’ money by reducing the number of workplace disputes that appear before employment tribunals.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th May 2014, 10:15 BST

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) said the new early conciliation service has got off to a good start.

Since yesterday, anyone thinking of making an Employment Tribunal claim must contact Acas first. Acas will then try and resolve the dispute quickly without the need for legal action through its new free service called Early Conciliation, which was launched on April 6.

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Acas chairman Sir Brendan Barber said: “Early Conciliation has got off to a very good start and has given us the chance to help more people resolve their disputes early, as well as save taxpayers some of the cost of running the tribunal system.

“The public have repeatedly told us how much they value the skills and experience of our conciliation staff.

“It is thanks to their professionalism and hard work that so many people have decided to try Early Conciliation since its launch on April 6.”

Early Conciliation is built on a similar optional service that Acas used to run called Pre Claim Conciliation (PCC). This service dealt with around 20,000 cases a year, and more than three-quarters of these were resolved in a way that did not lead on to a tribunal claim.

Around 1,000 people have contacted Acas about early conciliation every week since its launch. One hundred employers have also contacted Acas to try early conciliation.