Early conciliation period to double from 1 December

The window for entering early conciliation with Acas will be doubled from six to 12 weeks from next month.

The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 have been published in draft form today (5 November), and are due to come into force on 1 December.

Early conciliation begins when an employee notifies Acas that they plan to make a claim to the employment tribunal, and Acas offers to help both parties reach a legal agreement to avoid this. This has been a legal requirement since 2014.

Many employers have reported that, due to pressure on conciliators, they are being met with longer waiting times for Acas to initiate contact between the parties, or certificates being issued after no or minimal conciliation.

This is alongside a huge backlog in tribunals themselves, which increased to almost 50,000 cases at the end of 2024, according to the most recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

Reacting to the news on LinkedIn, Caspar Glyn KC, chair of the Employment Lawyers' Association, said the decision to double the window for conciliation could mean litigants face years waiting for a judgment in their tribunal claim.

"This is devastating news for employment justice. Members of ELA have been telling me that Acas is simply not conciliating at all in many areas. The truth is that Acas needs more resources," he said.

The Employment Rights Bill, which returned to the House of Commons today for amendments to be further debated, will see time limits for bringing a claim to tribunal extended from three to six months.

Many legal experts have warned that this could prompt an increase in claims, further burdening the tribunal system.

From the employer's perspective, extending the conciliation window combined with the new tribunal timeframe could mean they are unaware of potential claims for many months.

Stephen Simpson, principal editor at Brightmine, said the decision had come as a surprise to employment lawyers.

"On the face of it, this appears to be an emergency measure designed to tackle the ever-increasing pressure on both Acas and the wider employment tribunal system.

"What has surprised a lot of us is the lack of forewarning from the government or Acas, with the regulations appearing seemingly out of the blue."

Simpson explained that employers will have to wait longer for claims to be concluded, as the initiation of the Acas early conciliation process pauses the time limit for claimants to submit their ET1 claim form (currently, three months from the act complained of for most types of claim).

"In theory, this allows time for claims to be resolved via negotiations before formal employment tribunal proceedings are needed, but in practice it can draw out claims for longer," he added.

"However, employers - particularly large employers that frequently have to engage with the Acas conciliation process - could use this change as an opportunity to revisit their approach to dispute resolution and the settlement of potential tribunal claims.

"For example, we recommend that employers educate managers, senior members of staff and HR about early conciliation, since in practice the individual who receives first contact from Acas about early conciliation is often not the same person who ultimately becomes responsible for managing any subsequent tribunal claim. Now is a good time to revisit that education piece."

Niall Mackenzie, Acas chief executive, said the organisation is working closely with the Department for Business and Trade to support employers and employees who will be affected by this change, and will provide further updates when available.

"This is a prudent move and good news for workers and employers looking to resolve disputes at work, giving them more time to seek resolution without a potentially costly tribunal," he said.

"The service that we offer has not changed and people still have the same right to access early conciliation or an employment tribunal."Between 2021 and 2025, Acas helped to resolve 9 out of 10 of early conciliation cases without?the need to go to employment tribunal, saving workers and employers time, costs and emotional cost.

"We aim to maintain that success rate by allowing sufficient time for conciliation, and by minimising the number of EC cases that go on to even submit an ET1."

Acas stressed that claimants can continue to receive conciliation up to the hearing, and businesses can decide not to engage with conciliation at any time.