Early conciliation period now 12 weeks

From 1 December 2025, the period allowed for early conciliation is 12 weeks.

Previously, if both the employer and employee accepted an offer of early conciliation, an ACAS conciliator would have a period of 6 weeks to help the parties negotiate a settlement, where the time limit for the employee bringing a tribunal claim was put on hold. The change to 12 weeks is effected by the Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

A longer 12-week early conciliation period could facilitate the settlement of any potential litigation before it starts. Demand for early conciliation has been rising, 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 early conciliation period. An extended 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 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.

The government has committed to monitoring the impact of this extension. A formal review is scheduled for October 2026 to assess whether the 12-week period achieves its intended objectives or further adjustments are required.