Legislation
Early Conciliation period doubles
Date
Effective now
Summary
The maximum period for ACAS Early Conciliation has now doubled from six weeks to 12 weeks for notifications made on or after 1 December 2025.
It’s doubled due to both ACAS and the Tribunals experiencing significant workloads and back logs.
At Moorepay, we’ve also received several Early Conciliation matters where the respondents have been notified a day or two before the end of the six-week period, or even after the certificate had been issued. And we’re seeing preliminary hearings scheduled for February and March 2027, with some final hearings not being scheduled until 2029.
The extension is therefore designed to reduce this pressure and back log by allowing more time to resolve issues before litigation.
But views are mixed, with many saying this will just delay the inevitable and employers will have a longer period of uncertainty while anticipating a claim – potentially a period of nine months before a claim is received.
This subject is covered in more detail in our recent article.
Employment Law guide
April – May 2025 edition Do you know when the latest complex legislation changes come into effect? And are you aware of the work required to ensure your business is fully compliant?…