Acas Early Conciliation
How Acas Early Conciliation works — the mandatory pre-claim step before any Employment Tribunal claim, what it does, and the strict time-limit interactions.
概述
Acas Early Conciliation (EC) is the mandatory pre-claim conciliation step introduced by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 for most Employment Tribunal claims. It is run by Acas, a free, neutral, statutory body. The aim is to resolve disputes without going to tribunal; about 75% of disputes referred to EC settle or are not pursued further. EC has critical time-limit consequences — getting the dates wrong is one of the leading reasons claims fail at the gateway.
谁可以使用此程序
- You have an Employment Tribunal claim against an employer (unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages, redundancy, etc.)
- Your claim falls within the categories where EC is required (almost all do)
- You are still within the underlying time limit (usually 3 months less 1 day from the date of the act complained of)
逐步流程
Calculate your original time limit
Most Employment Tribunal claims must be issued within 3 months less 1 day of the act complained of. Equal pay and redundancy pay claims have 6 months. Calculate this date carefully — missing it is fatal.
Notify Acas (start EC)
Complete the EC notification form on acas.org.uk or call them. The date Acas receives your notification is 'Day A'. The clock stops on your underlying time limit at this point.
Acas contacts your employer
An Acas conciliator contacts your employer (if you consent) and explores settlement. They are neutral — they advise both sides on likely tribunal outcomes and possible terms.
Conciliation period (up to 6 weeks)
Conciliation lasts up to 6 weeks but can be extended by 2 weeks if both sides agree. You can end it earlier if you want, by requesting a certificate. The clock stays paused throughout.
Outcome A: settlement
If you settle, the agreement (usually in a COT3 form) is binding. You agree not to pursue the claim. Money is typically paid within 14–28 days.
Outcome B: no settlement — get certificate
Acas issues an EC certificate with a unique reference number ('Day B'). You then have 1 month from Day B (or the original time limit minus the conciliation period, whichever ends LATER) to lodge your ET1 with HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
费用
重要警告
EC time limits are unforgiving. If you miscalculate, your claim is time-barred and the tribunal almost always refuses to extend.
EC certificate reference numbers are required on the ET1 form — without one (or evidence you are exempt), the claim is rejected at the gateway.
If you do not engage with Acas, EC still proceeds and the certificate is issued at the end of the 6 weeks.