Employment Law – Time Limits

Employment law time limits can be extremely strict.

A potentially strong claim can be lost simply because the correct legal deadline was missed.

Different claims also have different limitation periods, and the deadline can depend on:

• The Type of claim
• The Date employment ended
• The Date the unlawful act occurred
• Whether conduct continued over a period
• When Acas Early Conciliation started and ended

Internal procedures such as:

• Grievances
• Disciplinary hearings
• Appeals

do not normally extend Employment Tribunal time limits.

If you believe you may have an employment claim, you should therefore identify the applicable deadline at an early stage.

Important Change From 1 October 2026

As at 10 September 2026, the current time limit for most Employment Tribunal claims is:

3 months minus 1 day

From 1 October 2026, the limitation period for the majority of Employment Tribunal claims will increase to:

6 months minus 1 day

The new period generally applies where the event or problem that starts the limitation period occurs on or after 1 October 2026.

A claim based on an earlier event does not automatically receive the longer deadline simply because 1 October has passed.

There are also important exceptions.

For example:

• Statutory redundancy pay claims already generally have a 6-month limitation period
• Equal pay claims already generally have a 6-month limitation period after employment ends
• Certain exceptionally urgent applications have much shorter deadlines

For breach of employment contract claims in Scotland, the extension from 3 to 6 months takes effect later, on 9 November 2026.

Unfair Dismissal and Constructive Dismissal

As at 10 September 2026, an ordinary Unfair Dismissal claim generally has to be started within:

3 months minus 1 day

from the effective date of termination.

The same general limitation period applies to an ordinary Constructive Dismissal claim.

The effective date of termination is a legal concept.

In many cases it will be:

• The Last day of the notice period
• The Date of dismissal where no notice is given
• The Date employment ends following a resignation in a constructive dismissal case

It should not simply be assumed that the effective date of termination is the last date on which salary happened to be paid.

What Happens From 1 October 2026?

Where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 October 2026, the limitation period for most unfair dismissal claims will become:

6 months minus 1 day

Acas Early Conciliation can then affect the final deadline.

How Much Service Do I Need for Ordinary Unfair Dismissal?

As at 10 September 2026, an employee generally needs:

2 years' continuous employment

to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim.

The old shorthand of 23 months and 3 weeks is not the statutory qualifying rule.

From 1 January 2027, the ordinary qualifying period will reduce to:

6 months

Some automatically unfair dismissal claims have no ordinary qualifying-service requirement.

Acas Early Conciliation

Before bringing most Employment Tribunal claims, you must normally notify Acas.

This should be done before the applicable Tribunal limitation period expires.

Acas will then offer Early Conciliation, which provides an opportunity to try to resolve the dispute without Tribunal proceedings.

Does Acas Early Conciliation Stop the Clock?

Yes, provided Acas is notified within the applicable limitation period.

The statutory time-limit calculation is paused while Early Conciliation operates.

Once the Early Conciliation process ends, Acas provides a certificate containing a reference number.

That number will normally be required when the Employment Tribunal claim is submitted.

How Long Can Early Conciliation Last?

The old rule under which Early Conciliation generally lasted one month with a possible 14-day extension is no longer current.

For notifications made to Acas on or after 1 December 2025, the statutory Early Conciliation period can last up to:

12 weeks

It may end sooner if:

• The Parties reach agreement
• Either side does not wish to conciliate
• Acas concludes settlement is not possible

How Long Do I Have After Receiving the Acas Certificate?

If you notified Acas within the original Tribunal limitation period, you will generally have at least one month after receiving the Early Conciliation certificate to present your claim.

In some cases, you may have longer.

The exact calculation can be complicated because it depends on:

• Original limitation date
• Date Acas was notified
• Date Early Conciliation ended

You should therefore calculate the final deadline rather than assuming that receiving an Acas certificate automatically gives you a fresh three or six months.

Does Raising a Grievance Stop the Clock?

No.

Starting or continuing:

• A Grievance
• A Disciplinary appeal
• An Internal appeal
• Settlement discussions

does not normally pause the Employment Tribunal limitation period.

Acas Early Conciliation has separate statutory rules that can pause the clock.

Interim Relief – The 7-Day Deadline

Some dismissal cases have an exceptionally short deadline.

An employee may potentially apply for interim relief alongside certain automatically unfair dismissal claims.

An application for interim relief must generally be made within:

7 days of the effective date of termination

This can apply in certain cases involving dismissal because of matters such as:

• Whistleblowing
• Trade union activities
• Acting as certain employee representatives
• Acting as certain health and safety representatives
• Exercising certain statutory accompaniment rights

An employee making only an eligible interim-relief application does not necessarily have to complete Acas Early Conciliation before making that application.

The seven-day deadline is particularly strict and should be treated urgently.

Breach of Contract Claims

An employee may sometimes bring a breach of contract claim in the Employment Tribunal after their employment has ended.

This can include claims concerning matters such as:

• Notice pay
• Contractual bonus
• Commission
• Other contractual sums

There is no qualifying-service period.

Employment Tribunal Time Limit

As at 10 September 2026, the ordinary Employment Tribunal deadline is generally:

3 months minus 1 day

from the termination of employment.

For relevant claims in England and Wales, this generally increases to:

6 months minus 1 day

where the termination giving rise to the claim occurs on or after 1 October 2026.

For breach of employment contract claims in Scotland, the corresponding change takes effect from 9 November 2026.

Acas Early Conciliation normally needs to be considered before the Tribunal claim is presented.

Is There a Limit on the Amount the Employment Tribunal Can Award?

Yes.

The Employment Tribunal can generally award up to:

£25,000

for a contractual claim brought under its breach-of-contract jurisdiction.

Higher-value claims may need to be pursued in the civil courts.

Civil Court Time Limits

In England and Wales, the normal limitation period for a simple contractual claim is generally:

6 years

from the cause of action accruing.

Different rules apply in Scotland, where contractual obligations are generally subject to a 5-year prescriptive period, subject to the detailed Scottish rules.

Civil court proceedings and Employment Tribunal proceedings have different:

• Procedures
• Costs rules
• Jurisdiction
• Limitation rules

Written Statement of Employment Particulars

Employees and qualifying workers are entitled to a written statement of employment particulars.

The principal statement must generally be provided:

On or before the first day of work

This is a day-one right.

Other specified information can be provided in the wider written statement within:

2 months of starting work

The previous rule under which the whole statement generally had to be provided within two months is therefore outdated.

There is also no current requirement to work for one month before obtaining the basic statutory right.

What Can I Do if I Do Not Receive a Written Statement?

You can initially:

• Raise the issue informally
• Raise a grievance
• Ask the Employment Tribunal to determine the relevant particulars where the statutory conditions are satisfied

Where employment has ended, a Tribunal reference is subject to a statutory time limit.

As at September 2026, that is generally based on the current 3-month regime, subject to applicable extension rules.

From October 2026, the wider Employment Tribunal time-limit reforms also need to be considered.

Can I Receive Compensation?

A failure to provide an accurate written statement can potentially result in additional compensation of:

• 2 Weeks' pay
• Up to 4 weeks' pay in appropriate circumstances

However, this additional compensation normally arises where the employee or worker has successfully brought another specified Employment Tribunal claim and the written-statement failure also existed.

It is therefore not correct to assume that every missing statement automatically generates a standalone four-week award.

Discrimination Claims

The Equality Act 2010 protects against unlawful discrimination because of protected characteristics including:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Depending on the protected characteristic and circumstances, claims can involve:

• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Harassment
• Victimisation
• Other Equality Act protections

For further guidance, see Discrimination.

Current Time Limit

As at 10 September 2026, a discrimination claim must generally be started within:

3 months minus 1 day

from the discriminatory act complained about.

From 1 October 2026, the limitation period becomes:

6 months minus 1 day

where the relevant limitation period starts on or after that date.

Acas Early Conciliation can affect the final deadline.

What About Continuing Discrimination?

Conduct extending over a period can potentially be treated as occurring at the end of that period.

For example, this may apply to:

• An Ongoing discriminatory policy
• A Continuing discriminatory practice
• A Connected course of discriminatory conduct

However, separate discriminatory decisions do not automatically become one continuing act.

For further guidance, see Continuing Acts of Discrimination.

Can the Tribunal Extend a Discrimination Deadline?

Potentially.

An Employment Tribunal can allow a late Equality Act claim where it considers it just and equitable to do so.

Relevant factors can include:

• Length of delay
• Reason for delay
• Effect on evidence
• Prejudice to the parties

An extension is discretionary and should not be relied upon.

There is no ordinary two-year qualifying-service requirement for a discrimination claim.

Whistleblowing Claims

Whistleblowing law protects qualifying workers who make protected disclosures.

For further guidance, see Whistleblowing.

As at September 2026, a whistleblowing detriment or dismissal claim generally has a current limitation period of:

3 months minus 1 day

from the relevant detriment or effective date of termination.

From 1 October 2026, the ordinary Tribunal limitation period generally increases to:

6 months minus 1 day

where the relevant event occurs on or after that date.

There is no ordinary qualifying-service requirement for whistleblowing protection.

Whistleblowing Interim Relief

Where an employee alleges that the principal reason for dismissal was making a protected disclosure, they may potentially seek interim relief.

The deadline is only:

7 days from the effective date of termination

This is separate from the ordinary deadline for the final whistleblowing unfair dismissal claim.

Health and Safety Claims

Employees have important protections against dismissal for specified health and safety reasons.

For example, automatic unfair dismissal protection can potentially arise where an employee is dismissed for qualifying action connected with:

• Serious workplace danger
• Health and safety concerns
• Certain health and safety representative duties

There is no ordinary minimum qualifying-service period for these automatic unfair dismissal protections.

Workers may also have separate protection against detriment.

As at September 2026, most such Tribunal claims fall within the current 3-month minus 1-day regime, moving to the new 6-month minus 1-day regime for relevant events occurring on or after 1 October 2026.

Certain eligible health and safety representative dismissals can also qualify for the separate 7-day interim relief procedure.

Family and Pregnancy Rights

Different family-related employment rights have separate legal tests, but many related Employment Tribunal complaints currently fall within the general three-month limitation regime.

From 1 October 2026, most affected Tribunal deadlines increase to six months for relevant events occurring from that date.

Unpaid Parental Leave

Unpaid Parental Leave became a day-one employment right from 6 April 2026.

The previous one-year qualifying-service requirement has been removed.

An employee who is unlawfully prevented from exercising the right or subjected to unlawful detriment may potentially bring an Employment Tribunal complaint.

As at 10 September 2026, the current limitation period for relevant complaints will generally be within the existing:

3-month regime

From 1 October 2026, the new six-month Tribunal regime will generally apply to qualifying events occurring from that date.

Pregnancy, Maternity, Paternity and Other Family Leave Detriment

An employee can have statutory protection against being subjected to unlawful detriment or dismissal connected with qualifying:

• Pregnancy rights
• Maternity leave
• Paternity leave
• Adoption leave
• Shared parental leave
• Parental leave
• Other protected family leave

There is generally no ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying-service requirement where the dismissal falls within an automatic family-leave protection.

Current Tribunal deadlines are generally within the three-month regime, increasing to six months for relevant events from 1 October 2026.

Paid Time Off for Antenatal Care

Pregnant employees have a statutory right to reasonable paid time off for qualifying antenatal appointments.

If an employer unlawfully refuses the right or does not pay when legally required, a Tribunal complaint may be available.

The limitation period currently falls within the general three-month regime, subject to Acas Early Conciliation and the October 2026 reforms.

Time Off for Dependants

Employees have a statutory right to reasonable unpaid time off to deal with qualifying emergencies involving dependants.

There is no qualifying-service period.

If an employer unlawfully refuses the right, subjects the employee to detriment or dismisses them for exercising it, a Tribunal claim may be available.

Dismissal for exercising the statutory right can amount to automatically unfair dismissal.

Redundancy Claims

There are several different types of redundancy-related claim, and they do not all have the same deadline.

For further guidance, see Redundancy.

Collective Redundancy Consultation

Where an employer proposes sufficient redundancies to trigger statutory collective consultation, qualifying representatives or employees may potentially seek a protective award if the employer fails to comply.

From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award is:

180 days' pay per affected employee

No two-year qualifying-service period is required.

As at September 2026, claims concerning failure to collectively consult are subject to the applicable current Tribunal limitation rules and should be pursued promptly.

From 1 October 2026, the wider six-month time-limit reforms apply to the majority of Employment Tribunal claims where the relevant triggering event occurs from that date.

Statutory Redundancy Pay

Statutory redundancy pay is one of the important exceptions to the ordinary three-month limitation period.

A statutory redundancy pay claim generally has to be made within:

6 months minus 1 day from the date employment ends

You will generally need at least:

2 years' continuous employment

to qualify for statutory redundancy pay.

Special statutory provisions can sometimes allow a Tribunal to consider entitlement later within the wider statutory framework, but the safest approach is to act within the initial six-month period.

Contractual Redundancy Pay

A claim for an unpaid contractual redundancy entitlement is different from a statutory redundancy pay claim.

As at 10 September 2026, an Employment Tribunal contractual claim will generally need to be brought within:

3 months minus 1 day

from termination.

For England and Wales, relevant contractual Tribunal claims generally move to a 6-month period where termination occurs on or after 1 October 2026.

Separate civil court limitation periods may also be available.

TUPE Claims

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, commonly known as TUPE, impose obligations on employers to inform and, where appropriate, consult affected employees or their representatives.

For further guidance, see TUPE.

As at September 2026, a complaint concerning failure to inform or consult is generally subject to the current three-month Tribunal regime calculated by reference to completion of the relevant transfer.

From 1 October 2026, the corresponding period generally increases to six months where the relevant statutory trigger falls on or after that date.

There is no ordinary qualifying-service requirement for a TUPE information and consultation claim.

Unlawful Deductions From Wages

A worker may be able to bring an Unlawful Deduction From Wages claim where an employer unlawfully fails to pay or deducts wages.

This can potentially include:

• Salary
• Commission
• Contractually due bonus
• Holiday pay
• Other qualifying wages

As at 10 September 2026, the general limitation period is:

3 months minus 1 day

from the deduction or failure to pay.

Where there is a qualifying series of deductions, the time limit will generally run from the most recent deduction in the series.

From 1 October 2026, the general limitation period increases to:

6 months minus 1 day

for relevant deductions or failures occurring from that date.

Separate statutory rules can restrict how far back historic deductions can be recovered.

Bonus Claims

The correct limitation period for a Bonus claim depends on the legal basis of the claim.

If the bonus is:

• Contractually due
• Ascertainable
• Properly treated as wages

an unlawful deduction from wages claim may be available.

The current general Tribunal period is normally:

3 months minus 1 day

from the date payment should have been made.

From 1 October 2026, the new six-month regime applies to qualifying events occurring from that date.

What if the Bonus is Discretionary?

The word discretionary does not automatically prevent a legal challenge.

Depending on the contractual wording and way the discretion was exercised, issues can include:

• Breach of contract
• Irrational exercise of discretion
• Discrimination
• Unlawful deduction from wages

However, a genuinely uncertain discretionary bonus may not be suitable for a straightforward unlawful deduction claim.

A contractual claim in the Employment Tribunal is generally available only after employment has ended and is subject to the Tribunal's £25,000 jurisdictional limit.

Civil court proceedings may be available for larger contractual claims.

Equal Pay

The Equality Act gives employees and certain other workers rights concerning equal pay for equal work.

Equal pay claims already have a longer limitation period than most current Employment Tribunal claims.

In general, a claim must be brought within:

6 months minus 1 day

after the relevant employment ends.

Different rules can apply in certain circumstances, including:

• Concealment
• Incapacity
• Particular changes to employment

There is no ordinary qualifying-service period for an equal pay claim.

Statutory Sick Pay

The statutory sick pay regime changed significantly on 6 April 2026.

Eligible employees can now receive SSP from the first full qualifying day of sickness absence, and the previous Lower Earnings Limit has been removed.

For further guidance, see Sickness.

How Do I Challenge an SSP Decision?

A dispute about statutory sick pay entitlement is not simply dealt with as a standard Employment Tribunal SSP claim within three months.

If you believe your employer:

• Wrongly refused SSP
• Paid the wrong amount

you should normally first raise the issue with your employer.

If it cannot be resolved, you can contact the HMRC Statutory Payment Disputes Team.

HMRC can make a formal decision about statutory payment entitlement.

Any further appeal follows the applicable statutory-payment appeal process.

Separate Employment Tribunal claims may still arise where the same circumstances involve another employment right, such as an unlawful deduction or discrimination, but those claims have their own limitation rules.

Trade Union Rights

Employees and workers have a range of statutory protections relating to trade union membership and activities.

These include protection against certain:

• Detriments
• Dismissals
• Recruitment discrimination

There is no ordinary qualifying period for many of these protections.

Detriment or Dismissal for Trade Union Activities

As at September 2026, many Employment Tribunal complaints involving unlawful trade union detriment or dismissal fall within the current:

3-month minus 1-day

regime.

From 1 October 2026, the majority of these deadlines increase to six months for qualifying acts occurring from that date.

Certain complaints made directly against trade unions already have separate six-month limitation rules.

Interim Relief

Some trade union-related unfair dismissal claims qualify for interim relief.

The application must normally be made within:

7 days of the effective date of termination

Working Time Regulations

The Working Time Regulations provide rights relating to matters such as:

• Daily rest
• Weekly rest
• Rest breaks
• Paid annual leave
• Holiday pay
• Payment for untaken statutory holiday on termination

A Tribunal claim for denial of relevant working-time rights is currently generally subject to the:

3-month minus 1-day

regime.

Where a complaint involves an unlawful deduction from wages, such as some holiday-pay disputes, the wages provisions and rules concerning a series of deductions can also be relevant.

From 1 October 2026, the majority of relevant Tribunal limitation periods increase to six months for qualifying events occurring from that date.

There is no ordinary qualifying-service requirement for statutory working-time rights.

Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers

The law protects qualifying:

• Part-time workers
• Fixed-term employees

from unlawful less favourable treatment because of their status.

For example, disputes may arise concerning:

• Pay
• Benefits
• Training
• Promotion
• Other working conditions

As at 10 September 2026, relevant Tribunal complaints generally fall within the current:

3-month minus 1-day

limitation regime.

Where the treatment forms part of a series, different rules can affect when time starts to run.

From 1 October 2026, the majority of these Tribunal deadlines increase to six months for relevant treatment occurring from that date.

No ordinary minimum qualifying-service period generally applies to these statutory protections.

Flexible Working

The statutory right to request Flexible Working is now a day-one right.

The previous requirement for:

26 weeks' service

is no longer current law.

An employee can currently make up to:

2 statutory flexible working requests in any 12-month period

and can generally have only one live statutory request with the same employer at a time.

The employer must deal with a statutory request reasonably.

When Can I Bring a Tribunal Claim?

An employee may potentially complain to an Employment Tribunal where, for example, the employer:

• Failed to deal with the application reasonably
• Relied on incorrect facts
• Wrongly treated the application as withdrawn
• Failed to decide the application within the required period
• Subjected the employee to unlawful detriment
• Dismissed the employee because of the request

As at September 2026, the current statutory Tribunal deadline is generally within:

3 months

of the relevant decision, withdrawal or date by which the employer should have responded.

In practice, the precise statutory calculation and Acas Early Conciliation rules should be checked carefully.

From 1 October 2026, the relevant Tribunal limitation period generally increases to six months for qualifying events occurring from that date.

There is no longer a 26-week service requirement before making the statutory request.

Do Not Assume Every Claim Has the Same Deadline

Employment law limitation periods are claim-specific.

Important examples as at September 2026 include:

• Most Tribunal claims – 3 months minus 1 day
• Statutory redundancy pay – 6 months minus 1 day
• Equal pay after employment ends – generally 6 months minus 1 day
• Certain claims against trade unions – 6 months
• Interim relief applications – only 7 days

From 1 October 2026, most of the claims that currently have a 3-month period will move to a 6-month period.

However, the relevant transitional rules matter.

A dispute that occurred before 1 October will not necessarily receive the new deadline.

Acas Early Conciliation can also change the final filing date.

For these reasons, a limitation date should be calculated using the facts and legal basis of the particular claim rather than relying on a general estimate.