Resolving Employment Disputes: A view from Acas. Andrew Wareing Chief Operating Officer March 2014

Transcription

1 * Resolving Employment Disputes: A view from Acas Andrew Wareing Chief Operating Officer March 2014

2 Acas dispute resolution services Conciliation in collective industrial disputes Mediation in collective industrial disputes Arbitration in collective industrial disputes Mediation in workplace disputes among individuals/groups Conciliation in individual employment rights cases (IC) Conciliation in potential tribunal cases (PCC) FROM April Early conciliation in all potential tribunal cases

3 Acas Early Conciliation Session aim to describe the background to the proposed introduction of Early Conciliation early in 2014 to explain how individual dispute resolution will operate following the introduction of Early Conciliation and how our approach has been modelled to address some of the issues and common misconceptions relating to Early Conciliation

4 Building on the success of Preclaim conciliation PCC introduced in April 2009 Extended Acas capacity to offer conciliation in potential ET cases Identified through the Helpline Pro-active contact of the potential respondent Now handle around 20,000 cases per year

5 Building on the success of Preclaim conciliation Settlements achieved in around 50% of cases Fewer than 25% go on to become ET cases Research shows average saving of 2,700 in management and legal costs High levels of client satisfaction But No comprehensive awareness of service among claimants Limitation period can often means little time for effective PCC

6 Early Conciliation current position The Bill to introduce Early Conciliation became an Act of Parliament last April. The Regulations were laid in Parliament on 13 th February Early Conciliation begins on 6 th April 2014

7 Early Conciliation Main features when EC is introduced prospective claimants will need to notify Acas of their intention to make a Tribunal claim following notification to Acas, the claimant s limitation period for pursuing their case to Tribunal (usually three months) is put on hold. this suspension ( the prescribed period ) for up to a calendar month (with 14 more days if agreed) allows conciliation to take place without the claimant needing to take any further legal steps to protect their rights

8 Early Conciliation Main features there are provisions for both early conclusion, and extension, of the limitation pause engaging with the conciliation process is voluntary if conciliation is unsuccessful the claimant can proceed to lodge a Tribunal claim conciliation can still take place after the stop-the-clock period of EC and before a Tribunal claim is made conciliation is available after submission of ET1 as now

9 Early Conciliation - the notification process the main route will be through a web form with alternative options where appropriate limited information required on the form virtually all notifications will come from prospective claimants but there also will be scope for notifications from prospective respondents Numbers of requests very hard to predict. Current thinking is numbers may be close to the number of ET1s pre fees, plus current PCC cases.

10 Action on receipt of notification The Regulations include that Early Conciliation Support Officers will operate for the first stages of Early Conciliation after the form is received. focus on immediate contact with claimant enables gathering of case details quickly not just basic jurisdiction but also to identify multiples, batched cases and collective conciliation will help with allocation to an Acas conciliator will enable better scheduling of conciliator contact reasonable attempts to contact will be made

11 Early Conciliation role of conciliator task of conciliation itself doesn t change but the intensity of work will change due to the one month pause gaining employer involvement and trust remains essential successful Early Conciliation will rely on speed of contact and pro-activity of the conciliator some claimants will want to proceed straight to Tribunal

12 Early Conciliation end of EC stage and ET1 Conciliation certificate to confirm that Early Conciliation is complete there will be the option to continue to conciliate after conclusion of Early Conciliation but before an ET1 is lodged continuity of service if the claim becomes an ET1 the parties will deal with the same conciliator as at Early Conciliation stage where possible there will be some impact on ET1 conciliation

13 Resourcing Early Conciliation A number of uncertainties make it difficult to predict demand i.e. the impact of charging A flexible staffing model is being deployed We have discussed and agreed our funding allocation with BIS

14 Opportunities why EC makes sense It allows all potential litigants to be aware that a dispute resolution service is available engaging in Early Conciliation will be a cost effective way to deal with disputes in the workplace. i.e.: Time, Money. it is free it is quick- stop the clock is 1 calendar month no danger of potentially having to reimburse Tribunal fees or pay financial penalties imposed by Tribunals it is confidential it may help to maintain on going working relationships parties retain control over the outcome speaking to employers helps Acas promote the wider benefits of good employment relations

15 Some common misconceptions clarified Early Conciliation will not be a form of early neutral evaluation Early Conciliation offers more time to conciliate than we currently have, not less Early Conciliation is flexible and can be as short or long as required depending on the needs of the parties - we want to avoid bureaucratic rules EC doesn t double the number of claims being brought we don't want to encourage cases into EC where a conversation with the Helpline would be the best first step. EC aims to resolve cases earlier rather than resolve more cases.

16 Early Conciliation Q&A S