Oliver Allanach explores changes to early conciliation in People Management

Employment solicitor Oliver Allanach has written for People Management on what the extension of the Acas early conciliation period means for employers’ data protection and HR record-keeping.

For cases notified on or after 1 December 2025, the maximum early conciliation period for resolving workplace disputes has doubled from six to 12 weeks.

Oliver explains that businesses may be unaware of potential proceedings for longer, increasing the risk they are caught off guard if relevant data has been deleted.

He also highlights forthcoming changes the Employment Rights Act, which will reduce the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months, effective 1 January 2027.

Oliver said: “Employers should not be overly cautious with the deletion of data where there is a legitimate reason to retain it.

“UK GDPR does not prohibit retention where it is necessary and defending legal claims is a recognised lawful purpose for processing personal data.

“The challenge for employers is to find the balance between what’s reasonable to hold on to and what can be safely destroyed – and when.”

Oliver advises HR teams to regularly review and update retention and destruction schedules, document clear justifications for keeping data where needed to defend claims.

You can read Oliver’s article in People Management here.

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