As we reported in March this year, a new scheme came into force on 6 April 2014 which requires a prospective claimant to contact Acas (the UK employment conciliation service) before they can bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal to encourage both parties to try to reach settlement.
The statistics for 6 April to 30 June 2014 have recently been published by Acas and the key findings are as follows:
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In April 2014, when the scheme was voluntary, about 1,000 people contacted Acas each week. This number went up to 1,600 per week in May and June 2014, by which time the scheme was compulsory.
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The total number of requests for early conciliation was just over 17,000 during the quarter. Of those 17,000 requests, 3% of the first contact came from the employer.
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Of the approximately 11,000 cases which started and concluded their early conciliation procedure during the quarter, 16.5% were resolved with a successful settlement and a further 19% concluded because the employee decided not to pursue the matter.
While it is a commercial decision for an employer how far it is prepared to engage in early conciliation, the above figures indicate that there might well be merit in giving this careful consideration to avoid engaging in potentially lengthy and costly litigation.