Acas compulsory conciliation — from Spring 2014

From Spring 2014, all tribunal claims are to be subject to compulsory Acas conciliation. Guidance is to be provided by Acas. The power to order compulsory conciliation is found in section 7 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. This says that:

• before a claim can be submitted to the tribunal it must be submitted to compulsory conciliation;

• after a fixed period of time (the “prescribed period”) Acas must issue a certificate confirming conciliation has ended;

• an Acas caseworker can end the conciliation period early if they think there is no prospect of settlement; and

• time to bring the tribunal claim is to be extended to allow time for compulsory conciliation.