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ACAS early conciliation window extended to 12 weeks from December 2025
On 1 December 2025, The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (the “Regulations”) are due to come into force.
WHAT IS CHANGING?
The Regulations will increase the ACAS early conciliation window from six weeks to twelve weeks for claims with early conciliation commencing on or after 1 December 2025.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT POSITION?
In most cases, a prospective claimant must notify ACAS before commencing proceedings in the Employment Tribunal. ACAS will then offer early conciliation, where an impartial ACAS conciliator will try to facilitate a settlement between the employee and their employer to avoid litigation.
If an agreement is not reached during early conciliation, then an employee has at least one month from the date they received an ACAS early conciliation certificate to bring proceedings.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHANGE?
A longer twelve-week early conciliation period could facilitate the settlement of any potential litigation before it commences. The explanatory note to the Regulations recognises that demand for early conciliation has been rising over the past year and cases are becoming more complex, putting the ACAS early conciliation service under pressure. Employers are finding that ACAS has not been able to contact them within the current six weeks. An extended conciliation period may alleviate some of these pressures on ACAS and allow parties to take the opportunity to resolve disputes without the time and cost of going to an Employment Tribunal.
However, this extended conciliation period, together with Tribunal backlogs and the Employment Rights Bill’s proposed extension of limitation periods for most claims from three months to six months, means that employers may not become aware of a claim for a longer period. An extended conciliation period will also contribute to a longer dispute process.
It is important to be aware of any possible claims which may be brought against your business.
Please get in touch with your usual Stephenson Harwood contact for assistance with each step of the dispute process