Notify Acas about making a claim to an employment tribunal

If you've decided to make a claim to an employment tribunal you must first notify Acas.

If you're considering making a claim to an employment tribunal, you can notify Acas. We'll then offer you our early conciliation service to try and resolve the problem without you having to go to an employment tribunal.

Employment tribunal time limits

There are time limits for employment tribunal claims. You must notify Acas within the time limit – this is usually 3 months minus 1 day.

Find out more about employment tribunal time limits

Before you notify Acas

If you have time, you could try to resolve the problem with your employer first. You could do this by:

• raising the problem informally – for example with your line manager
• raising a formal grievance – this is where you make a formal complaint to your employer and they should follow a formal procedure
• raising an appeal – this is where you appeal to your employer if you feel your disciplinary or grievance outcome was wrong or unfair

If you raise the problem with your employer first, the time limits for making an employment tribunal claim do not change. You should make sure you have enough time before deciding whether to raise the problem with your employer.

Early conciliation

When you notify Acas, we'll offer you early conciliation. This is a free service where Acas speaks with you and your employer separately to try and resolve the problem without you having to go to an employment tribunal.

You can use a representative to act on your behalf during early conciliation. For example, a trade union representative or a family member. You can tell us you want to do this when you notify us.

Notify Acas online

You can notify Acas using our online form.

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Return to your form

If you started the form and created a memorable word, your information will be saved as you go through. You can return to your form at any time.

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Other ways to notify Acas

If you cannot use the online form, you can notify Acas by contacting the early conciliation team.

Telephone: 0300 123 1122
Relay UK text relay: 18001 0300 123 1122
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Use Relay UK text relay if you cannot hear or speak on the phone.

If you cannot use any of these options to notify Acas, find out how to contact us in our accessibility statement.

Other languages

To speak to us in another language, call the early conciliation team and ask for an interpreter. We can provide one straight away.

You can also request our services in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Accessibility during early conciliation

If you have any accessibility needs that will affect how we contact you during early conciliation, you can:

• tell us when you notify Acas
• let your Acas conciliator know when they're allocated to your case

For example, you can tell us if you need:

• Relay UK text relay
• an interpreter
• a British Sign Language interpreter
• email only contact