Currently, ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) offers a six-week window for early conciliation between an employee and an employer before a claim is accepted as a tribunal claim, and issued a tribunal case reference number, meaning it is being referred to be considered in an employment tribunal. From 1st December 2025, that window is set to double to 12 weeks. That’s twelve weeks for both sides to try and resolve things before the paperwork even hits the tribunal service.
Early conciliation is essentially a structured mediation process (you can read more about mediation in our blog post here). ACAS writes to the employer outlining the employee’s potential complaint and asks the employer if they want to try to resolve it with the employee before it escalates.
Both parties must agree to participate first – but if they do, it gives them the chance to reach a solution, whether that’s a payment, an agreement, or simply clarity, without going through a full tribunal.
This change is in addition to a further change proposed in the new Employment Rights Bill to extend the window post exit/termination in which an employee can bring a claim to ACAS and the tribunal service from three months to six months.
These two potential amendments aligned means workplace disputes could be hanging around for quite a while after an employee leave a business.
Employers might not see a tribunal claim for nine months – or even longer, depending on administrative delays. If the claim does go to a tribunal (which at time of writing, are already overloaded), businesses could then be looking at potentially receiving a hearing date in 3 years’ time. And let’s face it, no-one wants to be dealing with a dispute for any longer than is absolutely necessary!
ACAS is also moving much of its conciliation activity from telephone discussion to online and in writing, keeping clear records of all communications. While it’s not the most personal process, it ensures clarity and documentation for both parties.
Early conciliation remains a valuable tool. It gives both employers and employees a supported opportunity to resolve disputes early – but it does require patience, clear communication, and careful planning.
The upcoming changes mean HR teams should anticipate longer timelines and manage expectations accordingly. Overall, the changes feel like a real move towards dissuading unnecessary risk-tasking in the workplace, and encouraging tighter, more robust processes for employers or more willingness to resolve matters before getting to this stage at all. It may also give employees more food for thought on whether to make a claim, something the introduction of tribunal fees was designed to do – but this was controversial and removed. Employees also don’t want something hanging over them for 2-3 years and with the longer conciliation period maybe a satisfactory outcome can be reached and an employment tribunal claim avoided.
If you want to make sure your policies and processes are ready for these changes, or want advice on how to handle a bubbling situation that has the potential to be difficult to resolve Metro HR can help. From guidance on conciliation to ensuring your people processes run smoothly and compliantly, we’re here to make it easier for everyone involved and help everyone move on without a black cloud hanging over them for months and even years.
As conciliation windows lengthen and tribunal timelines stretch, the best protection for any organisation is early action, clear processes, and informed and therefore confident decision-making.
If you’re facing a dispute, anticipating one, or simply want to tighten up your practices before issues arise, reach out to us at Metro HR.
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