Changes coming for early conciliation period

Companies are facing a major change when it comes to dispute resolution from the start of next month, as the early Acas conciliation period is set to double.

The current window for starting early conciliation is six weeks, but that will be changed to 12 weeks. This is due to something called The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2025. The draft of that piece of legislation was published early in November and it will become law from the first day of next month. That means companies need to prepare for it.

What this change will affect is the conciliation period involving Acas. There are concerns that the increased window before launching that process could lead to an even bigger backlog than already exists.

Caspar Glyn KC is the Employment Lawyers’ Association Chair. According to Personnel Today, he wrote on social media that:

“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.”

If predictions about the increased backlog turn out to be true, some companies may opt to look elsewhere for conciliation. It is one of the services offered by an employee relations consultant in Northampton.

In addition to this change, the time limit for tribunal claims is also set to be stretched. At the moment, it stands at three months. However, the Employment Rights Bill introduced by the government would extend that to six months. This could cause tribunal delays.