| The Government has recently published The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 in draft form. The Regulations, which are due to come into force from 1st December 2025 would increase the ACAS early conciliation window from six weeks to twelve weeks.
The new time window will apply for all claims where early conciliation is commenced on or after 1st December.
Given that employers are increasingly finding that ACAS’ overstretched early conciliation function isn’t managing to contact them at all during the current (6 week) conciliation period, this change, when combined with the Employment Rights Bill’s proposals to extend the primary tribunal time limit to six months, could result in employers being unaware of a potential claim for nine months or even, with administrative delays at the tribunal’s end, up to a year. |
