From 1 December 2025, the period allowed for Acas Early Conciliation will be extended from six weeks to twelve weeks.
Early conciliation is a mandatory step for most individuals wishing to bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal. It involves Acas facilitating discussions between the prospective claimant and respondent to try to reach a settlement without the need for formal proceedings.
Under the current rules, Acas has up to six weeks to assist parties in resolving their dispute. The new regulations, however, double this timeframe, giving conciliators up to 12 weeks to promote a resolution. This change applies to all early conciliation forms submitted on or after 1 December 2025.
The extension aims to ease pressure on Acas and allow more time for meaningful negotiations, especially in light of anticipated increases in tribunal claims due to wider employment law reforms.
Parties are encouraged to engage in the conciliation process meaningfully and commercially. The alternative, litigation in the Employment Tribunal, is increasingly subject to delays and backlogs, resulting in significant management downtime for employers or personal disruption for individuals whose lives are placed on pause.
While some disputes are unavoidable and do require the tribunal’s intervention, this should remain the exception rather than the norm. Early resolution not only saves time and cost but also preserves relationships and reduces stress for all involved.
At the moment, due to the backlog and limited resources of Acas, there is often a five-week wait from notification to a conciliator being appointed, which leaves an incredibly short window for conciliation under the current six-week limit. This is why negotiations should not stop while waiting for an appointed conciliator. In many cases, it is commercially sensible to continue discussions directly between the parties, using Acas support as a parallel or fallback mechanism rather than the sole channel for resolution.
As soon as the Early Conciliation certificate is issued, the claimant’s deadline for lodging a tribunal claim begins to run again. In practice, this often leaves a very short window, given the five week wait, before the limitation period expires, forcing claimants to shift focus toward instructing counsel and preparing their claim.
Extending the conciliation period to 12 weeks is therefore a sensible and welcome step, as it provides a longer and more realistic opportunity to explore meaningful negotiations through Acas before litigation becomes necessary.
For further information or guidance on how these changes may affect you, please contact Patrick Simpson.
About the author
Patrick Simpson joined RIAA Barker Gillette as a solicitor apprentice in July 2017, where he changed seats generally every 12 months to gain valuable legal experience in all areas of the law. Patrick now works alongside mentor, partner and head of department Karen Cole. He acts for both employees and employers across all industries with experience in the commercial real estate, financial and medical science sectors.