ACAS Early Conciliation Changes - Longer Exposure to Tribunal Risk
Rebecca Ah-Chin-Kow · Posted on: December 3rd 2025 · read
Significant changes are happening in the UK employment-dispute landscape.
For any disputes where ACAS Early Conciliation is initiated from 1 December 2025, the maximum Early Conciliation (EC) period will double, allowing a 12-week window for early conciliation, up from 6 weeks. This extension is designed to ease pressure on ACAS given rising demand and increasing case complexity and reduce the number of tribunal claims.
However, coupled with the Government’s proposals under the Employment Rights Bill to increase the time limit for bringing most types of tribunal claims from 3 months to 6 months, (if the Bill passes), this could mean that employers are waiting for at least 9 months to know whether a claim is coming.
During this extended period claimants potentially will have more time to gather evidence, bolster their position and negotiate, possibly shifting the dynamic more in favour of the claimant. It also becomes more challenging for employers to preserve documentation and obtain witness statements over a longer period.
What can you do to safeguard against these implications?
- Reinforce HR practices around document retention, especially for performance, conduct, and grievance records.
- Make sure witness statements, investigation notes, and relevant communications are obtained at the time of an incident, stored securely and can be accessed if a claim arises many months later. You should not rely on someone being around many months later to provide evidence to support you in defending a claim.
- Consult with the HR Solutions team early to determine how they will evaluate settlement offers and mitigate risk.
- Provide training for HR and managers on the implications of a longer EC window and how to use the extended period strategically.
HR Solutions can support you in various ways, including; HR Audits to determine how well internal processes are currently working; supporting with disciplinary and grievance processes along with delivering disciplinary and grievance training to your teams.
