Changes to ACAS Early Conciliation Procedure
Earlier this month, the Government announced that changes to the ACAS Early Conciliation (EC) procedure will come into effect from 1 December 2025. The changes will extend the current six-week period allowed for conciliation to 12 weeks.
The current position
In most cases, a claim in respect of a workplace issue must be brought within three months minus one day from the date the problem at work happened. However, before most employment tribunal claims can be issued, a claimant must contact ACAS. At that point, time limits are paused for six weeks, and EC takes place.
EC involves an ACAS conciliator working with the potential claimant and employer to try and resolve the dispute. If an agreement is reached, it is recorded in a legally binding agreement (known as COT3).
If no agreement is reached within the six-week period, the potential claimant is given an “early conciliation certificate,” which then has to be submitted to the tribunal before they can issue a claim. In most cases, the claimant has at least one month from the date they received the certificate to submit a claim.
However, from 1 December 2025, the EC period will be extended from six weeks to 12 weeks for all EC notifications lodged on or after that date. The Government will review this extension in October 2026.
Reason for the extension
The reason for the extension is to give parties more opportunity and time to reach an agreement, but also to ease pressure on ACAS and the tribunals. The Government’s explanatory memorandum explained, “Demand for early conciliation has been rising over the past year alongside an increase in the complexity of cases, placing the early conciliation service under significant pressure”.
Implications of the changes
Whilst it is hoped that the change will ease the current tribunal backlog, there is a risk that it could result in prolonged uncertainty and delays. Under the new system, a claimant could start the EC process in the last days of the three-month time limit period, engage in 12 weeks of conciliation, and, in the event no agreement is reached, still have at least one month once an EC certificate is issued in which to file a claim. This would make the time from the occurrence of the incident in the workplace to the issue of the claim about seven months.
However, if and when the Employment Rights Bill comes into force, the time limit for most claims will be extended to six months, meaning a potential delay of nearly 10 months in some cases. This six-month extension is expected to come into force in October 2026.
Such a long delay could cause significant challenges, including evidential issues (as memories fade and details are lost), increased pressure on employers, workplace tensions, HR and PR issues, increased costs and financial uncertainty.
Action and advice
HR and legal teams will need to review record-keeping policies now to ensure retention of key employment records and communications for at least 12 months beyond the end of employment.
Engage early with ACAS where contact is made, rather than waiting for follow-up to minimise the risk of delayed communication. Monitor claim timelines carefully where EC overlaps with other limitation extensions under the Employment Rights Bill and seek legal advice early to assess settlement strategy and evidence preservation in light of the extended window.
If you would like to discuss any issues arising out of these changes to the ACAS Early Conciliation (EC) procedure, please contact the RSW Law team.
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