Commentary on Sections Dispute resolution Section 6: Conciliation after bringing of proceedings
31.Section 18(2A) of ETA 1996 requires that, where employment tribunal rules provide for the postponement of employment tribunal hearings for a fixed period, to allow an opportunity for conciliation and settlement, Acas’s duty to conciliate continues during that postponement but then becomes a discretionary power.
32.Section 19(2) of ETA 1996 requires additionally that, where employment tribunal rules provide as set out in section 18(2A), those rules must also provide that the parties be notified of the possibility that conciliation services may be withdrawn after expiry of the postponement.
33.The Gibbons Review of the Statutory procedures, confirmed by the responses to the government consultation, concluded that disputes were not generally being settled earlier, despite the parties’ knowledge that after the expiry of the fixed conciliation period Acas would not be required to offer assistance in reaching a settlement.
34.Section 6 repeals section 18(2A) and 19(2) of ETA 1996, with the effect that Acas’s duty to conciliate in employment tribunal cases subsists throughout the proceedings until the tribunal delivers a judgment.