This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.
Although early conciliation has been available since 6 April, it is mandatory from today and a potential claimant must first have contacted ACAS to allow an opportunity for conciliation to take place before they will be able to submit most types of claim to the employment tribunal.
There is no obligation on either the prospective claimant or respondent to engage in conciliation.
Whilst the early conciliation process is ongoing, there are "stop the clock" provisions which mean that in practice, the limitation periods for the claims to which early conciliation is applicable can be extended by up to a month, with the possibility of a further extension of up to 14 days in some cases.
Practical advice
- Although relatively straightforward in most cases, there will be some instances where the "stop the clock" provisions will be more complex, for example where there is more than one potential respondent.
- Where the potential claimant wishes to participate in conciliation, the ACAS conciliation officer will attempt to contact the potential respondent. Employers should ensure managers are aware of what they should do if they receive a call from ACAS on behalf of a potential claimant bearing in mind this may be the first indication that there is any potential dispute or prospective claim.
