Business

Working towards speedy reconciliations in workplace disputes

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A SIGNIFICANT change to the employment law claims process in the north has the potential to reduce the number hearing in the industrial tribunal and bring about speedy reconciliations to workplace disputes.

The Labour Relations Agency’s (LRA) new early conciliation service went live last month and it is something employers and employees should be aware of.

Early conciliation requires employees to register potential claims with the LRA prior to lodging proceedings with the office of the industrial tribunal and fair employment tribunal.

The change brings Northern Ireland into line with England, Scotland and Wales where early conciliation is offered by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

Any employee contemplating lodging tribunal proceedings must notify the LRA by completing the LRA notification form, which will initiate the conciliation process.

The LRA will appoint an early conciliation support officer to contact both employee and employer. The officer will identify whether the employee seeks to explore conciliation as a means of resolving their dispute, and if so, the employee’s information will be sent to a conciliation officer.

If the employer is also willing to participate in early conciliation, the LRA will seek to achieve settlement between the parties, within one calendar month from the date on which the employee’s notification form was received by LRA.

Therefore, the time limit for an employee to lodge their claim with a tribunal (typically three months) is paused for up to a calendar month, with this time frame capable of being further extended by up to 14 days in some circumstances.

If settlement can be agreed each party will sign a COT3 agreement stating the terms of settlement and the dispute will be concluded.

If settlement is not possible, an early conciliation certificate will be issued. This will generate a reference number, which will enable the claimant to submit a claim to the industrial tribunal.

If either employee or employer does not wish to participate in early conciliation they should notify the LRA when the early conciliation support officer makes their initial contact.

Whilst it is mandatory to register a potential claim with the LRA, it is entirely voluntary as to whether either party participates in early conciliation or whether they resolve the matter by way of industrial tribunal proceedings.

The latest figures from ACAS show that between April 2018 and March last year, 63 per cent of all early conciliation cases did not proceed to tribunal.

When disputes are dealt with in a speedy manner there is often a better chance of reconciliation therefore this new process has the potential to save the need for tribunals, which can often be acrimonious and impact on productivity.

However, for disputes which can’t be settled in early conciliation, it should be noted that the new process will lead to tribunals being delayed for a month or in some cases six weeks until this procedure is completed.

We strongly recommend employers and employees should seek legal advice regardless whether the matter is progressing by way of early conciliation or via the industrial tribunal.

:: Jan Cunningham (Jan.Cunningham@mmwlegal.com) is a partner and employment law specialist at Millar McCall Wylie (www.mmwlegal.com)