If a worker wishes to bring a claim against their employer, umbrella company, agency or end client, then they are legally required to contact ACAS – the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service – before submitting a claim in the Employment Tribunal.
ACAS is an independent public body that provides free advice and guidance on employment rights and workplace best practices. The ‘early conciliation period’ is a period of time (currently six weeks) during which ACAS seeks to encourage and facilitate a resolution between the parties involved in an employment dispute, before the matter progresses to an Employment Tribunal. Unfortunately, due to an increase in the number of Employment Tribunal claims being brought and inadequate funding, ACAS conciliators have been overstretched for several years, meaning that conciliation is not always taking place effectively, or at all.
Indeed, it has been reported that many employers have only discovered that the ACAS early conciliation process had been triggered after the six-week period had elapsed, and therefore by increasing it to twelve weeks it will allow more claims to be identified and to reach a settlement.
Effective from 1 December 2025, the ACAS conciliation period is doubling from six to twelve weeks. The aim of this increase is to is to allow a longer period for parties to potentially resolve their differences, thereby reducing the number of claims proceeding to the Employment Tribunal and therefore easing the backlog that the Tribunal is currently dealing with.
On the surface, this would appear to give employees and employers double the opportunity to resolve disputes, however if ACAS is not resourced with the help of additional conciliators, the intended impact of this change is unlikely to be felt. With employment rights widening and a rise in claims crafted by claimants using AI tools, a longer early conciliation period could put ACAS under even more pressure.
Moreover, whilst prospective claimants currently have a three-month limitation period (in most cases) in which to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal (in addition to the ACAS early conciliation period), the Employment Rights Bill proposes to increase this limitation period to six months in October 2026. This additional change, combined with the extension of the early conciliation period, could mean that employers are waiting at least nine months after the event to find out that a claim has been submitted, and claimants are waiting even longer for access to justice.
The introduction of the Fair Work Agency in April 2026 has the aim of working closely with ACAS to support businesses and assist them in meeting their legal obligations and improving their practices. It is hoped that the Fair Work Agency will be able to resolve certain employment disputes before they reach the ACAS stage.
The explanatory memorandum from the government outlines that the extension of the early conciliation period will be reviewed in October 2026 meaning further changes could be afoot.
In the meantime, the practical impacts of the increase of the ACAS early conciliation period on businesses can be summarised as the following:
- Record retention – Businesses are required to maintain comprehensive and accurate records for extended periods of time in order to ensure they can effectively defend against potential claims or disputes that may arise in the future.
- “Stop the clock” – Under the “stop the clock” rule, the statutory time limits for lodging a tribunal claim are paused while the parties engage in early conciliation through ACAS. When this pause is combined with current proposals to extend the standard tribunal claim limitation period from three months to six months, employers could potentially face a situation where up to nine months elapse before a claim is filed, significantly increasing uncertainty and risk exposure.
- More time for conciliation – businesses are, of course, not obliged to settle Employment Tribunal claims brought against them, although the reality is that settlement, irrespective of the strength of the claim, is often more cost-effective than the legal costs incurred in defending the litigation. If a business is minded to make a settlement offer, the extended conciliation period will give the parties more time to try and reach a resolution before the time and cost outlay of filing a defence is incurred.
These extended time limits, coupled with the introduction of the Fair Work Agency, means it will be more important than ever for employers and agencies to reduce the risk of claims being brought in the first place by reviewing their policies and procedures to ensure fairness and legal compliance, ensuring that managers are adequately trained in resolving complaints before they escalate, and keeping comprehensive records.
