Employers should note an important change to employment tribunal limitation periods taking effect today, 1 October 2026.
From today, the normal time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims increases from three months to six months.
Which cases are affected?
The new six-month period applies where the event giving rise to the complaint takes place on or after 1 October 2026.
In practical terms:
- for dismissal claims, the relevant date will normally be the effective date of termination;
- for claims concerning a particular act or omission, the relevant date will generally be when that act or omission occurred; and
- where a claim concerns a series of similar acts or omissions, the relevant date will generally be the date of the last act or omission in that series.
The change therefore creates an important transitional distinction. If the relevant dismissal, act or omission occurred wholly before 1 October 2026, the previous three-month limitation period will generally continue to apply.
What claims are covered?
The extension makes six months the standard limitation period for a much wider range of tribunal proceedings. The affected claims include many of those most frequently encountered by employers, such as:
- unfair dismissal;
- discrimination;
- working time claims;
- national minimum wage claims;
- claims relating to less favourable treatment of part-time workers;
- claims relating to less favourable treatment of fixed-term employees;
- breach of contract claims brought in the employment tribunal in England and Wales.
Previously, most of these claims were subject to a three-month time limit, while only certain categories of claim, such as equal pay and statutory redundancy payment claims, already benefited from a longer period.
Acas early conciliation
Importantly, the change to the underlying limitation period does not alter the existing rules concerning the effect of Acas early conciliation on tribunal deadlines. Employers and potential claimants will therefore still need to take those rules into account when calculating the final date by which proceedings must be presented.
Position in Scotland
The changes apply broadly across England, Wales and Scotland. There is, however, currently an exception for employment tribunal breach of contract claims in Scotland. The limitation period for those claims is expected to increase from 9 November 2026, subject to the relevant Scottish legislation coming into force.
What does this mean for employers?
The most obvious consequence is that employers will have to wait considerably longer before they can be confident that a former employee or worker is out of time to bring most tribunal proceedings.
The change also has some important practical implications. Employers should consider:
- Document retention: relevant HR records, emails, investigation material and other evidence may need to be retained for longer.
- Departing employees: employers should avoid assuming that the risk of a tribunal claim has passed shortly after the previous three-month deadline.
- Witness evidence: managers and other witnesses may be asked to give evidence considerably later, increasing the importance of producing clear contemporaneous notes.
- Settlement strategy: the longer limitation period may affect decisions about settlement discussions and the timing of any approach by a prospective claimant.
- HR procedures and training: internal guidance referring to a three-month tribunal limitation period should be reviewed and updated.
A new timetable for tribunal risk
For employers, this is more than a technical procedural amendment. Doubling the standard limitation period gives employees significantly longer to consider their position and commence proceedings. It also means that disputes may remain “live” for employers for longer. Good record keeping and early management of workplace disputes will therefore become even more important.
Employers should review their HR policies, record-retention practices and internal guidance to ensure that they reflect the new six-month regime from 1 October 2026.
