Received an Email from ACAS? Think Before You Reply
If an email from ACAS lands in your inbox telling you that an employee or former employee is considering an Employment Tribunal claim, your first instinct may be to respond immediately and explain why you think they are wrong.
Don’t.
We are seeing a different approach to the initial handling of some ACAS Early Conciliation cases. For employers, there is a particularly important message:
What you write in response may be sent directly to the employee, exactly as you wrote it.
That means an apparently straightforward email deserves much more thought than you might initially imagine.
What’s happening?
In most cases, before someone can bring an Employment Tribunal claim, they must first notify ACAS. ACAS can then offer Early Conciliation, giving the parties an opportunity to resolve the dispute without proceeding to a Tribunal hearing.
We are now seeing cases in which the employer’s initial contact comes by email from ACAS’s Early Contact Team.
The email includes information provided by the prospective claimant, including their account of the dispute and what they hope to achieve. The employer is then asked to confirm, within a specified period, whether it is willing to take part in Early Conciliation with a view to reaching a resolution.
So far, so straightforward.
But there is another important point.
The employer is invited to provide a brief explanation of its position and expressly warned that its response will be shared with the prospective claimant exactly as submitted, without being edited by ACAS.
That is where employers need to be careful.
Why has the approach changed?
As far as we can establish, ACAS has not formally announced this as a new “triage system”.
However, ACAS uses triage within its Early Conciliation processes and has previously referred to Early Conciliation Support Officers who finalise and triage cases before allocating them to conciliators.
The emails we have seen also make the purpose of this early contact clear. If an employer is not genuinely open to exploring a resolution, ACAS asks it to say so. This allows ACAS to prioritise cases in which both parties are ready to engage.
Given the pressure on the service, that is perhaps unsurprising.
In July 2026, ACAS reported that its individual dispute resolution service had dealt with more than 150,000 Early Conciliation notifications during 2025/26—an increase of 27% on the previous year.
Whatever terminology is used to describe the process, the practical implications for employers remain the same.
Don’t fire off a response
Imagine receiving an email containing allegations from a former employee that you believe are completely untrue.
It would be very easy to type:
“That’s absolute nonsense. We bent over backwards to support them, and they were the problem from day one.”
You might feel better immediately after pressing send.
You may feel rather differently when those exact words are read by the prospective claimant or their representative—or potentially referred to later as part of the dispute.
A response written in frustration can create problems that did not previously exist.
Your first response matters
Before responding, take time to understand exactly what is being alleged.
Gather the relevant documents and establish the chronology. If the dispute followed a disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence, redundancy or other internal process, review what was said and recorded at the time.
Then consider carefully what needs to be included in the response to ACAS.
In particular, employers should be wary of:
- Making unnecessary admissions;
- Contradicting previous correspondence or decisions;
- Introducing a new reason for a decision that was not given at the time;
- Making personal or emotional comments about the individual;
- Disclosing unnecessary confidential information;
- Responding to allegations before establishing the facts; or
- Writing a lengthy, point-by-point defence when ACAS has asked only for a brief explanation of the employer’s position.
Remember, this is not your Employment Tribunal defence. You do not necessarily need to rebut every allegation at this stage.
Does agreeing to conciliate mean you think they have a case?
No.
This is another important distinction.
Being willing to take part in Early Conciliation does not mean accepting that the allegations are true, admitting liability or agreeing to pay compensation.
An employer may believe that a prospective claim has little or no merit but still be prepared to engage with ACAS.
There may be commercial reasons for exploring a resolution. It may provide an opportunity to correct misunderstandings. Alternatively, the employer may simply want to understand what the individual is seeking before deciding how to proceed.
Equally, after reviewing the circumstances, the employer may decide that settlement is not appropriate.
The important thing is to make that decision after assessing the facts and potential risks—not as a knee-jerk reaction to receiving an ACAS email.
Don’t ignore it either
While employers should not rush their response, neither should they put the email to one side.
The Early Contact Team emails we have seen specify a deadline for responding. They also explain that if the employer does not respond or does not wish to participate, the case will be closed and an Early Conciliation certificate issued. The individual can then decide whether to proceed with an Employment Tribunal claim.
The right approach is not to panic or ignore the email.
It is to stop, review and respond carefully.
Has an ACAS email landed in your inbox?
Our advice is simple:
Think before you reply.
What appears to be an informal email response may be seen word for word by the person considering bringing a claim against your business.
Before pressing send:
- Make sure you understand the allegations;
- Check the relevant documentation;
- Assess the potential risks; and
- Consider carefully what you need to say at this stage.
At Rely Ltd, HR & Training Specialists, we support employers through workplace disputes, ACAS Early Conciliation and Employment Tribunal claims. We can review the circumstances, help you assess the risks and draft an appropriate response to ACAS.
If an ACAS email has landed in your inbox and you are unsure what to say, get in touch before you reply.
This blog provides general information only and should not be treated as legal advice. Employment Tribunal claims and time limits can be complex, and advice should be sought based on the particular circumstances of each case.