Conciliation
| 23) | The Panel Against Discrimination and Sexual Harassment will offer to facilitate conciliation of the dispute at the request of the complainant or the complainee. Under normal circumstances, attempts at conciliation do not require the filing of a written complaint. Conciliation is a voluntary process, and will be conducted by the Panel only where both the complainant and the complainee agree to conciliation. No legal rights or remedies are forfeited by entering into conciliation. If the conciliation fails to reach a settlement, the complainant can continue to enforce his/her rights. If a settlement has been reached during the conciliation, the parties may enter into a legally binding agreement to record the terms of the settlement. |
| 24) | The Panel Convenor shall appoint two panelists of different gender to conduct any conciliation. The Secretary of the Committee Against Discrimination and Sexual Harassment shall act as Secretary of the conciliation team. |
| 25) | The maximum time for the conduct of conciliation is 40 working days from the receipt of a complaint. The time limit for conciliation may be extended by the Panel Convenor on reasonable grounds and with the agreement of both parties. If the dispute is not resolved by conciliation within this period or either party decides to stop the conciliation, the complainant may pursue the case through formal investigation. In such a case, a written complaint should be filed with the Panel Against Discrimination and Sexual Harassment. |
| 26) | The complainant may elect to bypass conciliation and proceed directly with the filing of a written complaint. |
