Employment Law Aberdeen News

Early Conciliation

Before filing a complaint about equal pay with an employment tribunal you must first inform Acas so the can carry out what is known as the early conciliation procedure. The formal procedure for notify Acas requires you to fill out a simple Early Conciliation notification form. Acas aim to contact all claimants within two working days of submitting this form. When they contact you, Acas will explain breify what the Early Conciliation procedure is and ask you some basic questions about your claim. At this point, you may decide you do not wish to continue with your claim or Acas may advise you that they are unable to help. However, most cases are passed to an Acas conciliator after the initial discussions. The conciliator will discuss with you or your representative and also the representative of your employer who you are making your claim against. The role of the conciliator is to try and talk through any issues and reach a solution to the issue without having to resort to employment tribunal proceedings.

A new report published independent group chaired by entrepreneur and former Scottish Government minister Jim Mather the outlines various recommendations to improve workplace relations – which are also anticipated to improve productivity leading to economic growth.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee have stated that whistleblowers are often subjected to bullying and harassment and that the treatment of employees in public services who have raised concerns about wrongdoing has been "shocking".The Government is seeking to ensure that pople feel free to speak up about wrongdoing.

A new system was rolled out earlier this week requiring anyone with an employment dispute to first seek resolution before making an Employment Tribunal claim.

The Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee has written to Business Secretary Vince Cable MP to ask that Government launch a full investigation into blacklisting on Crossrail after apparently hearing compelling evidence that the practice is current and ongoing.