Earlier this year, the law changed so that anyone thinking of making an employment tribunal claim has to contact ACAS first. It has, today, published statistics for the first 3 months, 6 April to 30 June 2014.
During April, when the scheme was voluntary, about 1,000 people contacted ACAS each week.During May and June, when the scheme was compulsory, about 1,600 people contacted ACAS each week. The total number of requests for early conciliation was just over 17,000 during the quarter. Of those, 3% of the first contact came from the employer rather than the employee.
Of the, approximate 11,000 cases which both began and ended their early conciliation period during the quarter, 16.5% resulted in a successful settlement and a further 19% of employees told ACAS, they were not proposing to take the matter further.
Comment
The published statistics will be good reading for the government. The increase by 600 of people contacting ACAS per week is not a surprise, given that it became mandatory to contact ACAS before lodging a claim with the employment tribunal. Employment Associate Paul Burton says, "What is of more importance is that over 35% of the cases definitely did not proceed to an employment tribunal claim. This adds to the reduction in claims generally following the introduction of fees last year."
At Frettens, all of our solicitors offer a free initial meeting or chat on the phone to answer your questions. If this article raises issues for you or your business, please call us on 01202 499255 and Kate or Paul will be happy to discuss it with you.
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