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From 1 December 2025, the ACAS early conciliation period will be extended from six weeks to 12 weeks.
Regulations were passed on 4 November 2025 to extend the ACAS early conciliation period from six weeks to 12 weeks to ease the pressure on ACAS who had been experiencing a significant backlog. Note that this is the maximum early conciliation period; it can be shorter in practice, for example, where the prospective claimant or respondent does not wish to conciliate.
It is not unusual for employers to find that a certificate has been issued in circumstances where there has been minimal opportunity for conciliation. This can be disappointing as the early conciliation process was originally intended to give both parties a chance to resolve disputes without the time and cost associated with the tribunal process. It will be interesting to see whether the extended conciliation period provides a renewed opportunity for meaningful engagement between the parties.
The Employment Rights Bill proposes an increase to the limitation period for bringing employment claims to six months (from three). There has been no suggestion to date that there will be any changes to the current ACAS early conciliation procedure, which allows for an extension to the limitation period in order to complete this process. Therefore, if the Bill is passed, taking the extended conciliation period into account, the limitation period could potentially be more than nine months after the date the claim arose. If disputes are not resolved during that extended conciliation period, it would take even longer for cases to reach a final hearing.
For further information on how this affects your business, please get in touch with your usual Baker McKenzie contact
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