WORKPLACE expert Acas has launched a new free service that can handle disputes before they go to an employment tribunal. Anyone in Worcestershire thinking of making an employment tribunal claim will now need to first notify Acas, which will offer the "early conciliation" procedure to try to resolve the dispute quickly without the need for legal action.

This builds on the success of a similar service that Acas has been running since 2009 called pre-claim conciliation, which deals with around 20,000 cases a year and over three quarters of which don’t reach a tribunal hearing. Early conciliation saves employers and employees the stress, cost and anxiety associated with the tribunal process.

Malcolm Boswell, Acas West Midlands regional director, said: "We know that small business owners in Worcestershire are less likely to have written procedures in place or an internal HR function and may fear the prospect of facing an employment tribunal. Seven out of ten people that use our current PCC service are from small organisations with fewer than 50 employees in the workplace. From today PCC becomes early conciliation, which is free and will give us the chance to help even more people resolve their disputes early. Independent research has found that our current PCC service saves employers on average £3,200 compared to dealing with an employment tribunal case. At Acas our advice is always that it is better to resolve disputes at the earliest possible stage, ideally in the workplace itself.”

If early conciliation doesn’t resolve the dispute then the claimant will be able to lodge a tribunal claim. More information about Acas early conciliation is available on the Acas website www.acas.org.uk/earlyconciliation