If your workplace grievance and appeal have not resolved the problem, you may be wondering what to do next.

For some employees, the next step may be ACAS Early Conciliation and, potentially, an Employment Tribunal claim.

You do not have to have a lawyer or trade union representative to contact ACAS. But when you are handling the situation yourself, being organised and prepared can make a significant difference.

Marcas helps you bring together what has happened, organise your grievance documents and evidence, and prepare for the next stage.

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Your internal grievance has ended. What happens next?

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Reaching the end of your employer's grievance procedure can leave you with more questions than answers. Perhaps your grievance was rejected. Maybe your appeal was unsuccessful. You may believe important evidence was overlooked, or the outcome did not resolve the problem you originally raised.

If the dispute remains unresolved, you may now be considering whether to take the matter further.

ACAS recommends trying to resolve the problem internally before starting Early Conciliation, including raising a formal grievance and appealing where appropriate.

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Preparing for ACAS Early Conciliation

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If you are considering making a claim to an Employment Tribunal, you will usually need to notify ACAS first.

Early Conciliation gives you and your employer an opportunity to try to resolve the dispute without going to an Employment Tribunal.

Before speaking to ACAS, it can help to understand your own case clearly.

That means being able to explain:

• what happened and when;

• what you raised with your employer;

• the evidence supporting the key events;

• how your employer responded;

• what happened during your grievance and appeal; and

• what you are hoping to resolve.

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ACAS itself recommends preparing a brief list of events and gathering relevant documents such as grievance and appeal letters, outcome letters, emails and any diary or log of events.

 

How Marcas can help you prepare for ACAS

 

A workplace dispute can generate months — sometimes years — of emails, meetings, letters, messages and documents.Marcas helps you turn that information into something easier to understand and work with.You can use Marcas to help:

• Organise your timeline

• Bring important events and dates into a clear chronology.

• Review your grievance history

• Keep your original grievance, employer's outcome and appeal connected.

• Organise your evidence

• Identify the documents and information relevant to the issues you raised.

• Identify unanswered issues

 

Compare what you raised with how your employer responded.

Prepare a clear summary
Organise the key events so you are better prepared to explain the dispute.

Prepare for Early Conciliation
Think through the issues, supporting information and the outcome you are seeking.

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Going to ACAS on your own?

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Not having a solicitor or union representative does not mean you have to approach the next stage with an unorganised folder of emails and documents.Marcas gives you a structured place to work through your workplace dispute and prepare. It does not replace ACAS, a solicitor or professional legal advice. Instead, Marcas helps you organise, understand and prepare your own case information.

 

What happens if ACAS does not resolve the dispute?

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If Early Conciliation does not result in an agreement, ACAS can issue an Early Conciliation certificate. The certificate number is normally needed if you decide to submit an ET1 claim to the Employment Tribunal.

At that point, being able to understand the history of your dispute becomes even more important.

Your grievance documents, chronology, evidence, employer correspondence and ACAS information may all form part of the material you need to work through.

ACAS can explain the conciliation process, but it cannot represent you, tell you whether you have a valid case, give legal advice or prepare your tribunal case for you.

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Preparing for an Employment Tribunal without a lawyer

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If your dispute progresses towards an Employment Tribunal, Marcas can continue helping you organise the information you already have. Use Marcas to keep your chronology, documents, grievance history, evidence and important events organised as you prepare for what comes next. Where you need legal advice about the merits of a claim, compensation, limitation dates or legal strategy, you should consider obtaining appropriate professional advice.

 

Don't ignore Employment Tribunal time limits

 

Employment Tribunal claims have strict deadlines. Starting or continuing your employer's internal grievance process does not automatically extend the deadline for notifying ACAS. ACAS therefore advises employees not to wait for the grievance process to finish if doing so risks missing the relevant time limit.

Always check the current deadline that applies to your circumstances.

 

Ready to move forward?

 

Your internal grievance may have ended, but that does not necessarily mean your workplace dispute has.

Marcas can help you organise what happened, prepare your information for ACAS Early Conciliation and get ready for whatever comes next.

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