12 March 2014

ACAS conciliation - contact your HR Adviser

As of 6th April 2014, any individual wanting to make an Employment Tribunal claim must contact ACAS first.  That can be the start of a month-long process of conciliation to see if the matter can be resolved through ACAS. This means that BPIF/BOSS members will now find themselves contacted by ACAS before they know anything about any claim from an employee or ex-employee.

Whilst this may be a good way to sort things out without it actually "going legal", you should not allow yourself to be stampeded into settlement negotiations.  Bear in mind that there is no obligation on you to enter into any such negotiations.

BPIF Legal's advice is to talk to your HR Adviser before entering into any dialogue with ACAS.  Your adviser (with BPIF Legal's backing) can help you assess the strength of the claim and the likely compensation payable should it all go wrong.  Your discussions with ACAS will then be fully informed and you will be in a much better position to gauge the benefits of early settlement versus a full Tribunal process