Today, the time periods for an employee (potential Claimant) and employer (potential Respondent) to engage in Acas Early Conciliation to try and resolve a potential claim before going to the Employment Tribunal have changed.

Previously, potential Claimants and potential Respondents were asked whether they wished to negotiate through Acas for a period of one month with an option to extend that for a further two weeks if those negotiations were proceeding well.

However, from 1 December 2020, where the potential Claimant and the potential Respondent agree to engage in Acas Early Conciliation, that process will continue for a minimum period of six weeks, which is reflected in The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.

This change has been brought in because, even before the increased caseload flowing from the COVID-19 pandemic, conciliators at Acas were finding it difficult to contact potential Respondents before the third or even fourth week of Early Conciliation, which was often too late, even if a two-week extension could be agreed.