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Early conciliation: getting an agreement

1 . What you need to do

There are things you can do to help with getting an agreement through early conciliation.

Any agreement you reach will be legally binding and will mean you do not have to go to an employment tribunal.

Know what you want

You're more likely to reach an agreement if you're clear about what you'd like to get out of it.

It can help to think about the outcome you’d be happy with. This could be, for example:

  • getting your job back
  • getting wages you're owed
  • a job reference
  • keeping your work equipment
  • being able to transfer a qualification or training you've done

Be flexible and realistic

It might help you reach an agreement if you're flexible about what you'll accept.

What you think you should get may not be realistic and you might need to reconsider what you'd find acceptable.

Your conciliator will be able to help with this. They can give examples of agreements and awards that came out of cases similar to yours.

You and your employer are more likely to come to an agreement if you're both willing to compromise.

Be involved and prepare

You need to take an active part in conciliation. We'll ask you to do certain things, for example:

  • gather information to support your case
  • let us know what type of claim you're planning to make, for example unpaid wages or discrimination
  • carry out certain tasks between our calls

It will also help if you get back to us quickly with any request. Any delays will take more time out of the 6 weeks you have to come to an agreement.

You'll need to set aside some time for early conciliation, but it will be quicker than going to an employment tribunal. It could take up to a year to get a final tribunal hearing.

Getting legal advice

Acas cannot give legal advice on your dispute, but you might be able to get legal advice from:

  • Citizens Advice – find your nearest on the Citizens Advice website
  • home insurance, if it includes legal cover
  • free legal clinics
  • your union

Find out more about getting legal advice

Get emotional support if you need it

Having a dispute at work can be very emotional. This can sometimes make it more difficult to come to an agreement.

It can help to find ways of getting emotional support.

2. Preparing information

It can help to prepare information about your case for early conciliation.

Write a summary of your dispute

Write your dispute as a list of events, keeping it brief.

It's useful to include:

  • dates of important incidents
  • how much money you're owed, if it's about pay
  • how long you've worked for your employer
  • any reasons your employer gave for their action or decision
  • what you've done already to try and resolve the dispute

Here are some examples.

Example 1: not being paid

  • Owed my normal wages
  • Should have been paid on 31 January
  • Owed £300
  • Employer has not given a reason for not paying
  • Tried to resolve it by speaking to line manager
  • Line manager told me to speak to payroll – keep being told to speak to different people but no-one can help me

Example 2: being dismissed

  • Worked for employer for 3 years
  • Got dismissed on 4 June
  • Employer's reason for dismissal was redundancy
  • Feel it was unfair as wasn't given proper consultation and employer has now advertised my job online
  • Appealed my redundancy but it was rejected

Example 3: being discriminated against

  • Feel I've been discriminated against because of my disability
  • Have diabetes
  • Employer would not make reasonable adjustment to let me start work later to allow for low blood sugar in the morning
  • Most recent incident was on 23 May – manager shouted at me for being late in front of colleagues
  • Have raised grievance, waiting for final decision

Get supporting documents

It will help your case to gather supporting documents that relate to your dispute, for example:

  • payslips (if the dispute is about pay)
  • timesheets
  • name and contact details of who we need to speak to at your work
  • the grievance or appeal letter you sent to your employer
  • the email or letter showing the decision or result from your employer
  • any other emails or letters relating to the dispute
  • a log or diary of events (if you've kept one)

Your conciliator will ask for these when they need them.

3. Your conciliator

Your conciliator will work with you to see if you can reach an agreement without going to a tribunal.

We'll be impartial

Acas is impartial, which means we're not on either side. 

Our conciliators can:

  • explain the conciliation process
  • talk through the facts and issues with both sides
  • talk through possible options
  • discuss how you may be able to solve the dispute without going to tribunal

Acas conciliators are not able to: 

  • take sides
  • represent either side
  • tell you whether to agree on a settlement
  • say how strong or weak your case is
  • help you prepare your case for tribunal
  • make a judgement on how your case could turn out

Conciliators will be able to tell where you can go to get support you need, for example, legal advice or emotional support.

We'll keep you updated

Your conciliator will keep you informed of any progress with the case and if you need to provide anything to move the case forward.

You might need to wait to hear back from your conciliator sometimes if they're waiting for a reply from the other side.

Your conciliator will do what they can to keep the case moving and help you reach an agreement to resolve your dispute.