Jaw-jaw before war-war

14 Jul 2014
by Sharma Solicitors
Negotiations

New legislation compels people in a workplace dispute to talk before going into legal battle in a court.

Whether they like it or not, both employers and employees must go into mediation before the employee can lodge an employment tribunal claim.

The mediation, officially known as Early Conciliation, is conducted by ACAS under new powers given to them by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

ACAS mediation

An employee, or claimant, has to contact ACAS and provide them with the ‘prescribed information’ in the ‘prescribed manner’ laid out in Section 18A(1) Employment Tribunals Act 1996.

This means the prospective claimant must submit a completed Early Conciliation form to ACAS through their website or by post.

Claimants normally have three months from the alleged wrongdoing to lodge an employment tribunal claim. But the conciliation process brings a stop to the clock on the time limit for 30 days.

If the conciliation is successful, a deal is sealed by ACAS. If the conciliation fails, then the three months begin ticking down again.

Settlement or litigation

Strictly speaking, other than inviting ACAS to intervene, the parties are not required to engage. Once the formal process of Early Conciliation is started, either side can make it clear they will not play ball.

This then brings the Early Conciliation process to an end and the claimant can begin normal hostilities at the employment tribunal.

The Government hopes that the introduction of a fee for lodging claims at the employment tribunal will put people off from claiming and as a result the number of cases will decline.

There is some evidence of this happening, although the right to charge fees is being challenged through the courts.

There is also some evidence to suggest that some claims that are falling away are the smaller ones such as wages.

‘Fight on’ tactics

What is undeniable is that the fee-charging regime now makes financial sense for employers to reject Early Conciliation. Employers can see that the opportunity to settle will still exist after the claimant starts legal action and incurs fees.

The prospect of incurring fees may be enough to discourage some employees from further hostilities. If the employee does litigate, the costs incurred to lodge the claim and the prospect of paying the hearing fee, up to £950 for the hearing, will act as an disincentive, while driving down the settlement price.

Tagged

ACAS Early conciliation employees employers employment solicitors tribunal fees

Related News Stories

Executive faced a ruined career after botched sacking

Executive faced a ruined career after botched sacking

An advanced mental health practitioner was recently awarded over £60,000 after he was sacked without a fair process. An employment…

Read more
CBI scandal: what if your employee is accused of a serious crime?

CBI scandal: what if your employee is accused of a serious crime?

The CBI has been rocked by accusations of rape and sexual misconduct. With its reputation in tatters, members leaving by…

Read more
F-words at work – OK, but saying ‘baldie’ – not

F-words at work – OK, but saying ‘baldie’ – not

Swearing at work was ruled acceptable by one employment tribunal judge, while another gave out £71,000 in compensation when a…

Read more
Employer punished for unfair sex assault dismissal

Employer punished for unfair sex assault dismissal

Government agency bosses used a flawed procedure when firing a top foreign envoy for a sexual harassment accusation. The British…

Read more
Employers face legal traps over home working

Employers face legal traps over home working

Employers risk making poor and costly decisions in response to employees asking to work from their homes. Two cases have…

Read more
Employers are punished for sacking bad workers

Employers are punished for sacking bad workers

A judge slapped down an employer who failed to follow a fair procedure when sacking a nurse for being racist.…

Read more
Managers’ confused performance assessment leads to big payout

Managers’ confused performance assessment leads to big payout

A well-known clothes store's flawed promotion and assessment process landed them with a £96,208 judgement at an employment tribunal. Bristol…

Read more
Frustrated manager’s decision leads to unfair dismissal

Frustrated manager’s decision leads to unfair dismissal

An employer lost an unfair dismissal case after summarily sacking an employee rather than go through a fair procedure. London…

Read more
Protected conversations expedite dismissals

Protected conversations expedite dismissals

The government has increased the scope for employers to sack employees without the threat of court cases. The new law…

Read more
Tesco gets burned by its fire and rehire tactics

Tesco gets burned by its fire and rehire tactics

A high street giant’s attempt to cut their staff bill was slapped down recently due to employment law. The High…

Read more
Tribunal defends  cross-dressing engineer

Tribunal defends cross-dressing engineer

A landmark court ruling has boosted employment lawyers’ chances of protecting ‘sex change’ workers from harassment and unfair dismissal. Birmingham…

Read more
Government demands employees return to work  – but not just yet

Government demands employees return to work – but not just yet

Government have changed their advice on telling employees to return to the workplace due to a spike in virus infections.…

Read more
Job redundancy or unfair dismissal

Job redundancy or unfair dismissal

The looming end to the government’s job subsidies in November will lead to some cynical bosses using redundancy to victimise…

Read more
Sickness sacking is valid without medical expertise

Sickness sacking is valid without medical expertise

A rail company did not need extensive medical evidence to sack an employee for being too sick to work. Employment…

Read more
Court upholds sacking over a Christmas overtime row

Court upholds sacking over a Christmas overtime row

An employment tribunal in November 2016 decided that a company fairly dismissed a worker when her refusal to do overtime…

Read more
Good employer loses appeal in migrant right to work case

Good employer loses appeal in migrant right to work case

Foreign workers have a right to appeal if they face dismissal over doubts about their UK residency status, appeal judges…

Read more

    Sharma Solicitors is Regulated by Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number: 403199)