Acas “working hard” to conciliate disputes despite rise in ET Claims

The Acas Annual report has recorded a sharp increase in the number of mandatory notifications of claims since Tribunal fees were abolished, rising from 1,700 per week to 2,200 per week, with a greater proportion going on to be lodged with an Employment Tribunal.

The Report goes on to record that Acas conciliators have worked extremely hard to maintain overall levels of settlement in the face of the increased workload: 34% of notifications were resolved before a claim was made to a Tribunal (either through a formal settlement or informally between the parties; 58% of claims to an Employment Tribunal were settled; and a further 16% of tribunal claims were withdrawn. In total an Employment Tribunal hearing was avoided in well over 70% of cases notified.