ACAS plays an important, genuinely independent role in employment disputes — but independent is not the same as being on your side.
ACAS is a free, publicly funded, impartial service. Before most employment tribunal claims can be issued, both sides must go through ACAS early conciliation, where an ACAS conciliator explores whether the dispute can be resolved without a hearing. Crucially, ACAS is impartial — it does not act for you, does not advise you on whether an offer is fair, and will not negotiate on your behalf the way a solicitor acting for you would.
A solicitor instructed by you acts solely in your interests. We assess the strength of your position, tell you honestly whether an offer undervalues your claim, and negotiate directly with your employer or their representatives to improve it. Where you are asked to sign a settlement agreement, the law specifically requires this kind of independent legal advice before your claims can be validly waived.
Settlements reached through ACAS conciliation are recorded in a document called a COT3 agreement, and these are binding without you needing independent legal advice in the way a settlement agreement does — the law treats ACAS's own independence as sufficient protection. That does not mean a COT3 is automatically a good deal: without your own solicitor reviewing it, no one is specifically checking whether the offer reflects what your case is actually worth.
These are not mutually exclusive. You can go through ACAS early conciliation and still have a solicitor advising you throughout — helping you understand what to say (and not say) during conciliation, assessing any figure ACAS puts forward, and negotiating further if needed. Many of our clients come to us after receiving a low initial offer through ACAS conciliation, and we help them secure a materially better outcome.
Call us on 020 3058 3365 or complete the form for a free, confidential assessment — whether you are already in ACAS conciliation or have just been offered a settlement agreement directly.
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