What is ACAS?
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is a non-governmental body, which provides free conciliation services for employers and employees to help prevent and resolve workplace disputes.
The purpose behind the early conciliation requirement is to require employees to contact ACAS at an early stage so that ACAS has an opportunity to try to promote the resolution and settlement of employment disputes and thereby avoid, where possible, the need for employees to issue employment tribunal claims.
Will my employer know that I have contacted ACAS?
What happens after contact with ACAS?
If the parties enter into conciliatory discussions, an ACAS conciliation officer will talk to you (or us on your behalf) and your former employer separately. The conciliation officer will normally try to help the parties understand each other’s perspective on the issues in dispute and will communicate any proposal a party wishes to make to resolve the dispute, eg offers and counteroffers of settlement.
Without Prejudice
Any communications with ACAS during the early conciliation process are treated as ‘without prejudice’, which means that they cannot be used as evidence if the dispute subsequently does proceed to an employment tribunal hearing.
