Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the ACAS early conciliation process.

Early Conciliation was launched in April 2014 and places a requirement on anyone involved in a workplace dispute who is considering an Employment Tribunal claim to contact Acas first. This gives Acas the chance to encourage the parties to resolve their differences through conciliation without the need for an Employment Tribunal claim to be made.

April 2014 – December 2014

• Acas received just under 61,000 notifications and in around 80% of these both parties have participated in conciliation.
• 16% of cases agreed a formal settlement (COT3) using Acas. About 61% of claims did not result in a tribunal claim being made. Around 23% progressed to a tribunal claim.^[1]

These figures are in line with expectations set out when the service was introduced.

Acas has recently undertaken a survey exploring the effectiveness and impact of Early Conciliation, drawing on the experiences of individuals and employers who were contacted by Acas and offered Early Conciliation. The results of this independent evaluation survey are expected to be published in the summer.

[1] Acas Quarterly Reports: Early Conciliation Update 3: April – December 2014