Acas Pre-claim conciliation
The Advisory and Conciliation Service (Acas) currently offers free voluntary pre-claim conciliation, which in 2011, conciliated approximately 15,000 disputes. More information about the existing voluntary pre-claim conciliation service can be found on the Acas website at: www.acas.org.uk or by calling the helpline: 08457 47 47.
Acas has the power to continue trying to settle all kinds of cases right up to the date of the hearing. There are no fixed conciliation periods. Acas operates in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, conciliation is through the Labour Relations Agency. A settlement brokered by Acas is known as a COT3 Agreement.