Stacie Cheadle, Croner-i technical writer, looks at how early conciliation works and the practical implications of the latest extension before heading to an employment tribunal
Since 1 December 2025, when an employee notifies Acas that they are considering bringing an employment tribunal claim, the mandatory early conciliation period that must be completed before the claim can progress has now doubled from six to 12 weeks.
My client has recently undertaken a redundancy consultation, which resulted in the loss of the office manager role. They were made redundant on 1 November 2025. Throughout the consultation the post holder challenged this decision. They have since unsuccessfully appealed, and now they have said they will contact Acas in early 2026 about bringing an unfair dismissal claim next year. Can they wait that long, and what will happen now?
