small business - acas claim - how to approach?

NeedABreak · Aug 30, 2026

We are a very small organisation - only 3 employees (one full time, two part time), everyone else here is a volunteer, including our working group / directors. We don't have internal HR but we do have a HR helpline and software to manage the paye stuff although its quite basic and we're still learning it. We have general charity insurance but we don't think we have Employment Practices Insurance in our package - would this normally be covered or are we on our own for costs?

One employee was with us for just 4 months. Employee is disabled - non-visible disabilities. Employee is well known locally for disability charity work so we were aware and didn't doubt it. We didn't ask for medical evidence and didn't do an OH referral as we don't have OH. We made adjustments that we thought were reasonable and within our budget.

One particular adjustment the employee wanted would have caused problems for many of our volunteers so we couldn't do it - won't say what it was as it would be very outing.

Employee then resigned, did not work notice and was on sick leave during the notice period.

We are now in ACAS conciliation. Ex-employee is claiming disability discrimination - including failure to make reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, harassment - plus constructive dismissal for discrimination. Claim is against the organisation and also a named individual volunteer/director under s110 Equality Act.

ACAS conciliator is putting pressure on us to settle quickly and says there's only a few weeks before it could go to tribunal if not settled. Ex-employee is seeking a settlement of £30k via ACAS, indicating around £10-12k plus an agreed reference. We haven't seen an ET1 yet.

For a small ltd org (not a charity) with 4 months service and very limited funds, what is the normal approach here? Do you negotiate now or wait for ET1? What kind of counter is typical pre-claim? If it did go to ET, we just couldn't afford the legal costs involved. Some of our directors are very much don't settle and ignore, other directors are very nervous about this getting worse.

Scalloway · Aug 30, 2026

I wouldn't recommend ignoring it, you probably would end up having to pay out. A business in my village did something similar and got stung for the full amount.

How is the £30k calculated? I would suggest offering a lower amount to see what negotiating leeway you might have.

Is there an organisation in the area that offers free advice to voluntary groups?

I would approach the insurance company to see what they have to offer.

NeedABreak · Aug 30, 2026

thank you, the breakdown covers things like personal injury, acas uplift, interest, past and future loss of earnings, pension. the employee was only with us for 4 months so it seems ridiculously high but I also hear that discrimination claims are uncapped in compensation. this is really stressing our volunteer directors out. we are most of us in our 70s and 80s and this former employee is much younger.

TaxBix · Aug 30, 2026

Worth getting the wording of any settlement right before you agree a figure. Injury to feelings for discrimination that happened during the employment rather than in the way it ended sits outside the termination rules, so it's not taxed. And anything above 30k in the termination part costs you employer NI at 15% on top, so 30k agreed isnt 30k out the door.

NeedABreak · Aug 30, 2026

thank you for that, it is anxiety inducing.

TaxBix · Aug 30, 2026

Sorry, at 10 to 12k that 15% wouldn't apply anyway.

HRinaboxsup · Aug 30, 2026

Waiting for a formal ET1 claim only drives up legal defense costs and risks public exposure, making pre-claim negotiation via ACAS the more pragmatic route for closure. Rather than meeting inflated demands, you can leverage your paper trail highlighting the operational reality and the adjustments you did make to anchor a realistic, low-risk counter-offer through a Settlement Agreement.
Please consider making sure all employees sign handbooks and documents regarding their roles and yours and evidence every conversation.
We sell policy templates letters etc downloads that have been verified by a FCIPD expert to mitigate risk going forward.

Ozzy · Aug 30, 2026

Scalloway said:
I would approach the insurance company to see what they have to offer.

Do this, check if your insurance covers this because if it does you can simply hand it straight to them to handle. They'll bring their solicitors in and handle it to completion.

Aside from that, it is also worth considering just letting it go to tribunal if you have the paper trail of reasonable adjustments being made. Or at the very least, be prepared to allow it to go to and let them (employee and acas) know you are happy for it to do so. I have seen it happen where the objective has been to get the early settlement money, the business to make the commercial decision to settle even if they have been in the right.

NeedABreak · Aug 30, 2026

we don't have employer practices insurance, we have normal employer liability, directors and other basic things. we don't have company car insurance as we all work home based and mainly travel locally if needs be (mainly london so public transport). we do have hr software and a helpline but I dont think they help with tribunals.

Ozzy · Aug 30, 2026

anon said:
and a helpline but I dont think they help with tribunals

Still worth checking with just in case, and also check with the directors insurance too.

NeedABreak · Aug 30, 2026

I'm not the one who organised the insurance or deals with the finances but isn't directors insurance to cover them specifically and not so much employment claims claims against the company?

Newchodge · Aug 31, 2026

ACAS have a legal duty to try to get claims settled. There is a strict time limit for them to do so, after which, if there is no settlement, the ex-employee can choose whether or not to continue to a tribunal claim.

After the ET1 has been issued you will be in a much better position to decide whether or not to fight the claim. The claim can be settled at any point before the tribunal issues its judgment, so there is no rush.

I would tell ACAS that you do not wish to settle at this time.

Newchodge · Aug 31, 2026

HRinaboxsup said:
Waiting for a formal ET1 claim only drives up legal defense costs and risks public exposure, making pre-claim negotiation via ACAS the more pragmatic route for closure. Rather than meeting inflated demands, you can leverage your paper trail highlighting the operational reality and the adjustments you did make to anchor a realistic, low-risk counter-offer through a Settlement Agreement.
Please consider making sure all employees sign handbooks and documents regarding their roles and yours and evidence every conversation.
We sell policy templates letters etc downloads that have been verified by a FCIPD expert to mitigate risk going forward.

You also give rubbish legal advice. Costs are not normally awarded in ET cases and there is no detriment in waiting for the ET1 to be issued.

Newchodge · Aug 31, 2026

anon said:
we don't have employer practices insurance, we have normal employer liability, directors and other basic things. we don't have company car insurance as we all work home based and mainly travel locally if needs be (mainly london so public transport). we do have hr software and a helpline but I dont think they help with tribunals.

May I ask which HR software you have?

Newchodge · Aug 31, 2026

anon said:
thank you, the breakdown covers things like personal injury, acas uplift, interest, past and future loss of earnings, pension. the employee was only with us for 4 months so it seems ridiculously high but I also hear that discrimination claims are uncapped in compensation. this is really stressing our volunteer directors out. we are most of us in our 70s and 80s and this former employee is much younger.

Please do not let this stress you. Discrimination claims must be proved, as must any personal injury claim. I suggest the employee is inflating their potential claim ten-fold, in order to put you under pressure.

Newchodge · Aug 31, 2026

TaxBix said:
Worth getting the wording of any settlement right before you agree a figure. Injury to feelings for discrimination that happened during the employment rather than in the way it ended sits outside the termination rules, so it's not taxed. And anything above 30k in the termination part costs you employer NI at 15% on top, so 30k agreed isnt 30k out the door.

That only applies to compensation for redundancy or equal pay. Not to discrimination or unfair dismissal.

NeedABreak · Aug 31, 2026

Newchodge said:
May I ask which HR software you have?

i can pm you

TaxBix · Aug 31, 2026

The 30k isn't only redundancy, it covers termination payments generally and unfair dismissal sits inside it too. The bit that genuinely falls outside is discrimination that happened before the exit and wasn't part of how it ended, and that one isn't capped at all, it comes out exempt in full. Worth splitting the two in the wording.

Michael Loveridge · Aug 31, 2026

Unfortunately, it's not unknown for people with a disability to exploit that disability for the purposes of claims like this, in order to extort a settlement from the employer. I obviously don't know if that's the case here, but the proposed settlement does sound extortionate in view of the very short period of employment.

As you won't identify the specific adjustment requested by the employee none of us can give accurate advice, but the emphasis is on `reasonable' adjustments - you don't have to give in to any demand, and one that would have caused problems for your other employees sounds to me quite unreasonable.

I would therefore be inclined to take a fairly hard-line approach, and make it quite clear that you intend to strongly (`robustly' is the preferred term for lawyers!) defend any claim. You might also add that if the claimant does issue an application you will apply to have it struck out on the basis that it has no reasonable prospect of success, and that in that event you will seek an order that the claimant must pay your legal costs, which you can realistically estimate at in excess of £10,000.

If you feel that's too optimistic (disability claims are very hard to get struck out) you can instead say that you will apply for a deposit order, which is easier to obtain. That's an order the ET can make requiring the claimant to deposit some hard cash - maybe £1,000 - which they will lose if the claim fails - in other words "put your money where your mouth is!"

You wouldn't necessarily succeed in either of these applications, but the mere threat of it may deter the claimant.

But to get a settlement you will usually need a bit of carrot as well as a bit of stick, and unfortunately you often have to take a commercial view that no matter how unmeritorious the claim may be it's cheaper just to pay them off than pay expensive lawyers to fight it. I would therefore recommend combining the threats with a lowball cash offer - say £1,000 - which you would make on a without prejudice basis, emphasising that it's made with no admission of liability and purely as a commercial decision.

anon said:
a small ltd org (not a charity) with 4 months service and very limited funds

This could actually work in your favour. You could add to your response that the organisation has no funds to pay a larger settlement than you're offering, and that if the settlement is refused you will simply wind the organisation up on the basis that it's potentially insolvent, so that the claimant will get nothing.

The Resolver · Sep 2, 2026

An option to instigate now is to invite the other party into an online blind negotiation . Both sides enter a series of offers online. If either the offers overlap or come within an agreed range, a binding settlement is agreed. It saves huge amounts of time and cost time and if no deal is reached the parties have not compromised themselves,. I am an advisor to the leading provider - Smartsettle Inc of British Columbia (although the data handling is wholly within Europe). There is no cost save if an agreement is reached (and then fairly modest) . Let me know if you would like to see a demonstration video. You can practice using it against the robot until you feel comfortable to start entering offers.

Newchodge · Sep 2, 2026

The Resolver said:
An option to instigate now is to invite the other party into an online blind negotiation . Both sides enter a series of offers online. If either the offers overlap or come within an agreed range, a binding settlement is agreed. It saves huge amounts of time and cost time and if no deal is reached the parties have not compromised themselves,. I am an advisor to the leading provider - Smartsettle Inc of British Columbia (although the data handling is wholly within Europe). There is no cost save if an agreement is reached (and then fairly modest) . Let me know if you would like to see a demonstration video. You can practice using it against the robot until you feel comfortable to start entering offers.

I think that is a really useful tool for approaching settlement of claims. However, the employer does not yet know if there is a claim that needs settling! Many employees ask ACAS to conciliate, but, if that does not produce any money they don't bother actually lodging a tribunal claim.

Lisa Thomas · Sep 2, 2026

Sorry to hear this has happened to you, FYI I have liquidated several companies due to employee claims making the company insolvent. The Directors liquidate and then walk away.

Hopefully that won't be necessary in your case, but is a worst case option to explore if things do not go your way.

ZipserSir · Sep 2, 2026

As others have said until you receive the ET1 the best thing you can do is to gather together a paper trail.

If the adjustment the employee asked for was not reasonable - as you have suggested - then it sounds like your former employee does not have much of a case.

I don't understand why ACAS is involved at this point. The former employee has not made a formal complaint (ET1) and you have not been given the opportunity to respond. What are they reconciling?

NeedABreak · Sep 2, 2026

they are trying to get a settlement through ACAS so it seems they dont intend to go to ET, at least I hope not and its just a shakedown attempt or whatever you watn to call it.

Newchodge · Sep 3, 2026

anon said:
they are trying to get a settlement through ACAS so it seems they dont intend to go to ET, at least I hope not and its just a shakedown attempt or whatever you watn to call it.

Generally, no one can issue an ET! until they have contacted ACAS to conciliate. They must wait until ACAS issue their certificate of early conciliation before they can start a tribunal claim. As this is a legal requirement it does not mean that they want to settle, or that ACAS thinks they have a claim.

The Resolver · Friday at 11:09 AM

Newchodge said:
I think that is a really useful tool for approaching settlement of claims. However, the employer does not yet know if there is a claim that needs settling! Many employees ask ACAS to conciliate, but, if that does not produce any money they don't bother actually lodging a tribunal claim.

I should add that once the negotiation has been set up the parties can negotiate at any time and on any number of occasions before and/or after ACAS have become involved or even during the case. it also of course can be used to help resolve any dispute or court case or negotiate a sale.

Grace Reed · Saturday at 12:31 PM

anon said:
We are a very small organisation - only 3 employees (one full time, two part time), everyone else here is a volunteer, including our working group / directors. We don't have internal HR but we do have a HR helpline and software to manage the paye stuff although its quite basic and we're still learning it. We have general charity insurance but we don't think we have Employment Practices Insurance in our package - would this normally be covered or are we on our own for costs?

One employee was with us for just 4 months. Employee is disabled - non-visible disabilities. Employee is well known locally for disability charity work so we were aware and didn't doubt it. We didn't ask for medical evidence and didn't do an OH referral as we don't have OH. We made adjustments that we thought were reasonable and within our budget.

One particular adjustment the employee wanted would have caused problems for many of our volunteers so we couldn't do it - won't say what it was as it would be very outing.

Employee then resigned, did not work notice and was on sick leave during the notice period.

We are now in ACAS conciliation. Ex-employee is claiming disability discrimination - including failure to make reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, harassment - plus constructive dismissal for discrimination. Claim is against the organisation and also a named individual volunteer/director under s110 Equality Act.

ACAS conciliator is putting pressure on us to settle quickly and says there's only a few weeks before it could go to tribunal if not settled. Ex-employee is seeking a settlement of £30k via ACAS, indicating around £10-12k plus an agreed reference. We haven't seen an ET1 yet.

For a small ltd org (not a charity) with 4 months service and very limited funds, what is the normal approach here? Do you negotiate now or wait for ET1? What kind of counter is typical pre-claim? If it did go to ET, we just couldn't afford the legal costs involved. Some of our directors are very much don't settle and ignore, other directors are very nervous about this getting worse.

Thanks - Ally

Given the size of your organisation, I wouldn’t ignore this, but I also wouldn’t agree to £30k just because ACAS is pushing for a quick settlement.

The fact that there’s no ET1 yet doesn’t mean the claim can be disregarded. With disability discrimination, there’s also no two-year service requirement, so the four months’ employment isn’t necessarily a defence.

I’d get the proposed claims, the adjustments you made, and the ACAS correspondence reviewed by an employment solicitor before making a counteroffer. That should give you a much better idea of the actual risk and whether an early settlement makes sense.

chenmichael · Sunday at 3:02 PM

anon said:
We are a very small organisation - only 3 employees (one full time, two part time), everyone else here is a volunteer, including our working group / directors. We don't have internal HR but we do have a HR helpline and software to manage the paye stuff although its quite basic and we're still learning it. We have general charity insurance but we don't think we have Employment Practices Insurance in our package - would this normally be covered or are we on our own for costs?

One employee was with us for just 4 months. Employee is disabled - non-visible disabilities. Employee is well known locally for disability charity work so we were aware and didn't doubt it. We didn't ask for medical evidence and didn't do an OH referral as we don't have OH. We made adjustments that we thought were reasonable and within our budget.

One particular adjustment the employee wanted would have caused problems for many of our volunteers so we couldn't do it - won't say what it was as it would be very outing.

Employee then resigned, did not work notice and was on sick leave during the notice period.

We are now in ACAS conciliation. Ex-employee is claiming disability discrimination - including failure to make reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, harassment - plus constructive dismissal for discrimination. Claim is against the organisation and also a named individual volunteer/director under s110 Equality Act.

ACAS conciliator is putting pressure on us to settle quickly and says there's only a few weeks before it could go to tribunal if not settled. Ex-employee is seeking a settlement of £30k via ACAS, indicating around £10-12k plus an agreed reference. We haven't seen an ET1 yet.

For a small ltd org (not a charity) with 4 months service and very limited funds, what is the normal approach here? Do you negotiate now or wait for ET1? What kind of counter is typical pre-claim? If it did go to ET, we just couldn't afford the legal costs involved. Some of our directors are very much don't settle and ignore, other directors are very nervous about this getting worse.

Thanks - Ally

I would not ignore this or sit back and wait for an ET1. If there are discrimination claims involved, I'd get some specialist employment advice before deciding whether to negotiate or settle. Also ensure you’ve kept records of the requested, considered and made adjustments.

Newchodge · Sunday at 4:12 PM

chenmichael said:
I would not ignore this or sit back and wait for an ET1. If there are discrimination claims involved, I'd get some specialist employment advice before deciding whether to negotiate or settle. Also ensure you’ve kept records of the requested, considered and made adjustments.

Why wouldn't you wait for an ET1?

NeedABreak · 2026-09-09T08:36:34+0100

ET1 has been lodged now apparently. There are several respondents - company and directors. Thanks to mods for anonymising this. The whole situation is upsetting as some of us have neurodivergent family members but seemingly we don't understand neurodivergence at all!

Newchodge · 2026-09-09T09:07:03+0100

NeedABreak said:
ET1 has been lodged now apparently. There are several respondents - company and directors. Thanks to mods for anonymising this. The whole situation is upsetting as some of us have neurodivergent family members but seemingly we don't understand neurodivergence at all!

You are now under a time constraint. You must respond to the ET1 within 28 days of the tribunal sending it out. So if the tribunal letter is dated 11 September you are deemed to have received it by 12 September and your response must be received before midnight on 9 October. Have you been able to get some support?

NeedABreak · 2026-09-09T10:57:04+0100

we are looking for legal assistance as our hr provider doesn't seem to incude tribunal support. we have a few urgent appointments arranged to see who would be best placed to assist. there's a lot of upset and anger over this, especially from those personally named as respondents.

Newchodge · 2026-09-09T10:57:59+0100

NeedABreak said:
we are looking for legal assistance as our hr provider doesn't seem to incude tribunal support. we have a few urgent appointments arranged to see who would be best placed to assist. there's a lot of upset and anger over this, especially from those personally named as respondents.

I am more than happy to look at the ET1 and give some general advice, no charge.

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