As we mentioned in our last UK Employment Alert, the government has introduced a new, pre-claim conciliation procedure for employment disputes. As of 6 May 2014, that procedure became mandatory.
Before lodging the vast majority of Employment Tribunal claims, a potential claimant is now required to contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) and notify it of his/her intention to do so. The purpose is to promote the earlier settlement of disputes but, as you will see from the example timeframe set out in this article, the early conciliation (EC) process may itself be the cause of dispute.