Statistical bulletin

Early conciliation and employment tribunal data for England, Scotland, and Wales: October to December 2024

Published

1. Main points

  • Open track group cases made up 41% of group cases in October to December 2024, decreasing in comparison to 50% in July to September 2024, and up slightly from 40% in April to June 2024. 
  • Open track cases accounted for the largest number of individual cases between October to December with regards to employee-led early conciliation notification numbers, making up 35% of cases.
  • Standard track cases accounted for 73% of employer-led cases for October to December 2024; this has increased from 72% in July to September, and 68% in April to June.
  • 69% of early conciliation notifications did not progress to employment tribunal between July to September 2024, remaining consistent from the previous quarter.
  • Open track cases made up 55% of employment tribunal claim form (ET1) receipts in October to December 2024, up slightly from the 50% across each of the 4 quarters between October 2023 and September 2024.
  • 79% of employment tribunal cases received did not go on to have a hearing in October to December 2024, up slightly from 76% in the previous quarter.

2. Early conciliation notifications

When an employee wants to make a claim against their employer at an employment tribunal, in most cases they must notify Acas first. Acas offers early conciliation to try to reach an agreement between the employee and employer and avoid the employee making a claim to an employment tribunal.

In some circumstances, the employer may approach Acas to help resolve a potential dispute. This can also be handled using early conciliation.

Early conciliation notifications can be made:

  • by an individual against their employer
  • on behalf of a group against their employer
  • by an employer where a dispute concerning staff requires resolution

Employee-led early conciliation notifications

Around 95% of all early conciliation notifications came from employees across each of the 5 quarters between October 2023 and December 2024.

Open track cases had the largest number of group cases with an assigned track in October to December 2024, accounting for 41%. This has decreased from 50% in July to September 2024. In comparison, group cases with no track assigned held the highest proportion of cases in October to December 2023, accounting for 33% of group cases.

Open track cases had the largest number of individual cases, accounting for 35% of all employee-led cases in October to December 2024. This is consistent with 35% in July to September 2024, and down slightly from 36% in April to June 2024.

Table 1a: Fast track employee-led individual early conciliation cases from October 2023 to December 2024

  Individual Group
October to December 2023 7,133 141
January to March 2024 7,202 219
April to June 2024 6,629 193
July to September 2024 6,778 93
October to December 2024 6,958 93
Total 34,700 739

Table 1b: Open track employee-led individual early conciliation cases from October 2023 to December 2024

  Individual Group
October to December 2023 8,931 130
January to March 2024 9,490 309
April to June 2024 9,146 197
July to September 2024 9,525 203
October to December 2024 10,022 168
Total 47,114 1,007

Table 1c: Standard track employee-led individual early conciliation cases from October 2023 to December 2024

  Individual Group
October to December 2023 5,078 91
January to March 2024 5,420 84
April to June 2024 5,208 73
July to September 2024 5,509 51
October to December 2024 5,509 51
Total 26,325 383

Table 1d: No assigned track employee-led individual early conciliation cases from October 2023 to December 2024

  Individual Group
October to December 2023 3,287 180
January to March 2024 3,712 24
April to June 2024 4,666 16
July to September 2024 5,823 37
October to December 2024 6,480 102
Total 23,968 359

Table 1e: Total numbers of employee-led individual early conciliation cases from October 2023 to December 2024

  Individual Group Claimants within groups
October to December 2023 24,429 542 22,254
January to March 2024 25,824 636 24,680
April to June 2024 25,551 490 18,944
July to September 2024 27,334 406 22,224
October to December 2024 28,969 414 33,481
Total 132,107 2,488 121,583
Figure 1: Employee-led individual early conciliation cases by track from October 2023 to December 2024. A visual representation of the data in Tables 1a to 1e.
Line chart showing quarterly volumes of employee-led cases from individual claimants by track. As outlined in Tables 1a to 1e and the surrounding text.

Employer-led early conciliation notifications

Employer-led early conciliation notifications made up around 5% of early conciliation notifications in the most recent 5 quarters from October 2023 to December 2024.

Standard track cases had the largest number of employer-led notifications in all 5 quarters from October 2023 to December 2024. This has increased from the previous quarter, accounting for 73%, compared to 72% of cases in July to September 2024, and 68% in April to June 2024. Standard track cases accounted for 74% in January to March 2024, and 67% in October to December 2023.

Table 2: Employer-led individual early conciliation cases by track from October 2023 to December 2024
  Fast None Open Standard Total
October to December 2023 221 [suppressed] 230 934 1,385
January to March 2024 162 [suppressed] 234 1,119 1,515
April to June 2024 191 [suppressed] 261 975 1,427
July to September 2024 203 [suppressed] 237 1,118 1,558
October to December 2024 240 [suppressed] 235 1,304 1,779
Total 1,017 [suppressed] 1,197 5,450 7,664
Figure 2: Employer-led individual early conciliation cases by track from October 2023 to December 2024. A visual representation of the data in Table 2.
Line chart showing quarterly volumes of employer-led cases from individual claimants by track. As outlined in Table 2 and the surrounding text.

3. Early conciliation notification outcomes

Some early conciliation notifications are not suitable for conciliation and the service is not mandatory so some claimants will refuse the offer.

Early conciliation cases not progressed to conciliation

In the 5 quarters from October 2023 to December 2024, over 20% of early conciliation cases were closed without parties engaging in early conciliation. Most of these were cases with no track assigned which made up 87% of cases in October to December 2024, up from 86% in July to September 2024, 85% in April to June 2024, 63% in January to March 2024, and 59% in October to December 2023. These are where Acas has not been able to get in touch with the claimant to gather enough information to assign a track, so this is to be expected.

It should be noted that around October 2023, changes were made to the notification form. These changes allowed users to select from more options as to the reason for their dispute. Their selection then determines the track for the case

Fast track cases were the lowest proportion of the cases that did not progress to conciliation (5% over the last 5 quarters). Of cases with an assigned track, open track cases made up the highest proportion of cases that were not conciliated across each of the 5 quarters between October 2023 and December 2024 (10.9%).

Table 3: Early conciliation notifications that have not progressed to conciliation by track along with total conciliated case numbers from October 2023 to December 2024
Track October to December 2023 January to March 2024 April to June 2024 July to September 2024 October to December 2024 Total
Fast 542 475 164 173 181 1,535
None 3,285 3,549 4,519 5,715 6,417 23,485
Open 986 948 395 474 526 3,329
Standard 738 620 259 291 267 2,175
Total 5,551 5,592 5,337 6,653 7,391 30,524
Total closed 24,910 26,157 25,677 27,341 29,326 133,411
Percentage of closed cases not conciliated 22% 21% 21% 24% 25% Not applicable
Figure 3: Early conciliation notifications that have not progressed to conciliation by track along with total conciliated case numbers from October 2023 to December 2024. A visual representation of the data in Table 3.​​​​
Line chart showing quarterly volumes of early conciliation notifications that have not progressed by track. As outlined in Table 3 and the surrounding text.

Settlement of early conciliation cases

Due to the potential time lag between an early conciliation certificate being issued and the corresponding ET1 reaching Acas, these data cannot be accurately reported until after a period of time has elapsed and so are 1 quarter behind all the other statistics in this bulletin. This table covers early conciliation, employee-led and group cases only, and is based on outcomes of cases received in October 2023 to September 2024.

Around 69% of cases did not lead to the submission of an ET1 throughout July to September 2024, consistent with 69% in April to June 2024, and up slightly from 68% between October 2023 and March 2024. Of those with an assigned track, the fast track cases were most likely not to progress to ET1. The proportion of cases that did not progress to tribunal increased for fast track cases and cases with no track assigned in July to September 2024 compared to the previous quarter (79% to 80% and 61% to 65%, respectively).

Table 4a: Fast track early conciliation notifications by outcome of cases received from October 2023 to September 2024
  Settled by Acas ET1 avoided Did not progress to tribunal
October to December 2023 1,003 5,486 75%
January to March 2024 1,059 5,672 78%
April to June 2024 978 5,397 79%
July to September 2024 970 5,748 80%
Total 4,010 22,303 Not applicable
Table 4b: Open track early conciliation notifications by outcome of cases received from October 2023 to September 2024
  Settled by Acas ET1 avoided Did not progress to tribunal
October to December 2023 1,229 5,253 57%
January to March 2024 1,341 5,854 65%
April to June 2024 1,356 6,049 65%
July to September 2024 1,364 6,701 65%
Total 5,290 23,857 Not applicable
Table 4c: Standard track early conciliation notifications by outcome of cases received from October 2023 to September 2024
  Settled by Acas ET1 avoided Did not progress to tribunal
October to December 2023 839 3,248 61%
January to March 2024 943 3,581 69%
April to June 2024 929 3,683 70%
July to September 2024 893 3,856 70%
Total 3,604 14,368 Not applicable
Table 4d: No assigned track early conciliation notifications by outcome of cases received from October 2023 to September 2024
  Settled by Acas ET1 avoided Did not progress to tribunal
October to December 2023 [suppressed] 2,907 99%
January to March 2024 [suppressed] 2,980 60%
April to June 2024 [suppressed] 2,798 61%
July to September 2024 [suppressed] 3,973 65%
Total [suppressed] 12,658 Not applicable
Table 4e: Total numbers of early conciliation notifications by outcome of cases received from October 2023 to September 2024
  Settled by Acas ET1 avoided Did not progress to tribunal
October to December 2023 3,071 16,894 68%
January to March 2024 3,343 18,087 68%
April to June 2024 3,263 17,927 69%
July to September 2024 3,227 20,278 69%
Total 12,904 73,186 Not applicable

4. Employment tribunal claim form (ET1) receipts

If a case is not resolved by early conciliation, the claimant can submit an ET1 form to make a claim to an employment tribunal. Conciliation can also be carried out at this stage to try to resolve the case without progressing to tribunal.

The highest level of ET1 receipts was received in open track cases, accounting for around 55% of all ET1 receipts in October to December 2024, up slightly from the 50% across each of the 4 previous quarters. The lowest proportion of ET1 receipts was received in cases with no track assigned, accounting for less than 1% of all ET1 receipts in each of the 5 quarters between October 2023 and December 2024.

Table 5: Employment tribunal claim receipts from October 2023 to December 2024
  Fast None Open Standard Total
October to December 2023 1,827 [suppressed] 3,676 2,028 7,531
January to March 2024 2,073 [suppressed] 4,536 2,423 9,032
April to June 2024 1,739 66 4,200 2,120 8,125
July to September 2024 2,260 32 5,666 2,926 10,884
October to December 2024 2,060 102 5,754 2,560 10,476
Total 9,959 200 23,832 12,057 46,048
Figure 4: Employment tribunal claim receipts from October 2023 to December 2024. A visual representation of the data in Table 5.
Line chart showing quarterly volume of employment tribunal claim receipts. As outlined in Table 5 and the surrounding text.

 

5. Employment tribunal claims outcomes

These data are based on cases that had an outcome within the quarters covered in this bulletin and do not correspond to the cases that were received in Table 5.

79% of all employment tribunal cases in October to December 2024 did not progress to a tribunal hearing, up from 76% in July to September 2024, and 78% in April to June 2024. Of cases with an assigned track, open track cases were most likely to not progress to a hearing, with fast track cases most likely to progress to a hearing. Acas settled around 70% of the cases that did not progress to tribunal in October to December 2024, up slightly from 69% in July to September 2024, but down from 71% in April to June 2024. The remaining cases were withdrawn.

Table 6a: Fast track employment tribunal cases with outcomes reached from October 2023 to December 2024
  Settled by Acas Withdrawn Percentage that did not have hearing
October to December 2023 640 401 61%
January to March 2024 682 417 58%
April to June 2024 597 394 63%
July to September 2024 616 399 62%
October to December 2024 661 434 62%
Total 3,196 2,045 Not applicable
Table 6b: Open track employment tribunal cases with outcomes reached from  October 2023 to December 2024
  Settled by Acas Withdrawn Percentage that did not have hearing
October to December 2023 2,373 718 85%
January to March 2024 2,219 863 85%
April to June 2024 2,236 851 86%
July to September 2024 2,173 906 84%
October to December 2024 2,780 1,150 85%
Total 11,781 4,488 Not applicable
Table 6c: Standard track employment tribunal cases with outcomes reached from October 2023 to December 2024
  Settled by Acas Withdrawn Percentage that did not have hearing
October to December 2023 1,075 411 73%
January to March 2024 1,030 387 74%
April to June 2024 999 340 73%
July to September 2024 1,029 397 75%
October to December 2024 1,498 506 79%
Total 5,631 2,041 Not applicable
Table 6d: No assigned track employment tribunal cases with outcomes reached from October 2023 to December 2024
  Settled by Acas Withdrawn Percentage that did not have hearing
October to December 2023

[suppressed]

[suppressed]

[suppressed]
January to March 2024 [suppressed] [suppressed] [suppressed]
April to June 2024 [suppressed] [suppressed] [suppressed]
July to September 2024 [suppressed] [suppressed] [suppressed]
October to December 2024 [suppressed] [suppressed] [suppressed]
Total [suppressed] [suppressed] [suppressed]
Table 6e: Total numbers of employment tribunal cases with outcomes reached from October 2023 to December 2024
  Settled by Acas Withdrawn Percentage that did not have hearing
October to December 2023

4,088

1,530

76
January to March 2024 3,931 1,667 76
April to June 2024 3,832 1,585 78
July to September 2024 3,818 1,702 76
October to December 2024 4,939 2,090 79
Total 20,608 8,574 Not applicable

6. Glossary

Conciliation or conciliating

The process of negotiation when an Acas conciliator mediates between parties in an employment dispute to try and reach agreement without going to an employment tribunal.

Conciliator

A government official employed by Acas who mediates or conciliates between parties in an employment dispute.

Early conciliation

Acas service introduced in April 2014. Voluntary process of conciliating before a formal employment tribunal claim has been submitted with the aim of resolving the case. The prospective claimant submits an early conciliation notification to Acas, usually online, and Acas will then offer them early conciliation.

Early conciliation notification

Submission to Acas (usually online) required to begin conciliation.

Employment tribunal (ET)

Court of law charged with hearing cases within employment jurisdictions, although cases with monetary value may be heard elsewhere.

ET1

Form used by claimants to make a claim to an employment tribunal. The form is copied to Acas to allow ET1 conciliation to proceed until either the dispute is resolved, or a legal judgement is reached. It’s free to submit an ET1.

ET1 avoided

Disputes that, at the time of publication, had led to an early conciliation notification but an ET1 had not been submitted.

Post ET1 conciliation

Acas has a duty to attempt conciliation between the claimant and their employer once an ET1 has been submitted and passed to Acas. If a settlement can be reached or if the claimant agrees to withdraw their claim, the dispute is considered to be resolved. Otherwise, it will proceed to an employment tribunal hearing.

Group case

Cases which have been grouped together for conciliation because they are against the same employer and relate to the same dispute. 'Claimants in groups' are the number of claimants represented by these group claims.

Jurisdiction

Legal classification of the type of dispute a claim is made about. One case may contain more than one jurisdiction. For example, an unfair dismissal claim may also contain a claim under the Wages Act for unpaid wages. This could be changed in an employment tribunal.

Live case

Early conciliation notifications or ET1s still going through the conciliation process.

Track

How Acas loosely classes the complexity of each case, based on the jurisdictions in the ET1 form, or the suggested jurisdictions assigned to early conciliation notifications.

The 4 tracks are:

  • fast track – straightforward cases mostly relating to money, such as unpaid wages
  • standard track – cases that are more complicated than fast track and involve unfair dismissal or a related jurisdiction
  • open track – the most legally complex cases with at least one type of discrimination or disclosure jurisdiction
  • no track assigned – cases where insufficient information is available to assign indicative jurisdictions (for example, where parties cannot be contacted)

7. Quality

You can find more information in the methodology article and background quality reports on:

  • strengths in the data
  • limitations of the data
  • appropriate uses of the data
  • how the data were created