The Government has commenced a consultation on the rules which will apply to the requirement to be introduced by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, whereby prospective tribunal claimants must submit details of their dispute to Acas first, at which point they will be offered pre-claim conciliation for a period of one month. If a settlement is not possible, or the one month period expires without a settlement having been reached, Acas will issue a certificate and only upon receipt of the certificate will the claimant will be able to go ahead and present their claim to the tribunal. The consultation looks at the draft Regulations and administrative process for early conciliation (EC), many of which are very technical in nature and procedurally driven. The areas on which the Government seeks views include:
• the draft Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013;
• the draft early conciliation form that prospective claimants will use to contact Acas;
• whether there are any other jurisdictions, in addition to those identified, in which EC would not be appropriate;
• whether there is any evidence that the early conciliation support officer (the person who initially receives the claim) model it is intended to operate is not appropriate;
• whether there should be a limit on the number of attempts, or length time, in respect of Acas’ attempts to contact the prospective claimant and, where relevant, the prospective respondent;
• the contents of the EC Certificate;
• proposals for handling prospective respondent requests for EC.
The consultation closes on 15 February 2013.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
