EXTENDING THE WAIT? ACAS EARLY CONCILIATION WINDOW DOUBLES

ACAS early conciliation has long been the first stop for most employment disputes before they reach the tribunal system — but as anyone who’s dealt with it recently will know, the service has been under serious strain. With demand outpacing capacity, ACAS has often struggled to complete conciliation within the existing six-week time frame.

In response, the Government has announced a change: from six weeks to twelve weeks. On paper, this gives everyone more breathing space. In practice, it’s not clear how simply doubling the clock will ease the backlog when the real issue lies in resourcing and capacity.

The context, however, is crucial. Under the Employment Rights Bill, the limitation period for bringing most employment claims will extend from three months to six months. That means, in future, a claim could be raised up to six months after the event, spend up to three months in conciliation, and still only then begin its journey to the Employment Tribunal — where some final hearings are already being listed for 2028 or even 2029.

It’s a reminder that while the Bill expands individual rights, it does so in a system already stretched thin. The additional workload is not being matched by additional funding — and that imbalance risks making timely resolution even harder.

We’ll have to see how this change plays out in practice and whether a longer window really leads to better outcomes, or simply a longer wait for justice.