Employment Tribunal Time Limits: Now 6 Months, or 3 Months Less a Day

In Great Britain the time limit for most employment tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal and discrimination, is now 6 months from the act complained of where that act falls on or after 1 October 2026, and 3 months less one day where it falls before that date. The extension took effect on 1 October 2026 and is not retrospective, so the date of the act, not the date of filing, decides which limit applies. Northern Ireland's main claims keep 3 months. Redundancy pay and equal pay claims already get 6 months, and mandatory ACAS Early Conciliation pauses the clock before any deadline runs out.

The Time Limit for Acts Before 1 October 2026: 3 Months Less One Day

For most employment tribunal claims where the act complained of happened before 1 October 2026, the time limit is 3 months less one day from that act, and that limit still applies to those claims. This applies to unfair dismissal, where the clock starts on the effective date of termination (the last day of employment or, where notice was worked, the day it expires); to discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010, where it runs from the date of the discriminatory act, or the last act in a continuing course of conduct; and to unlawful deduction of wages claims under the Employment Rights Act 1996, where it runs from the date of the deduction, or the last in a series of deductions. The "less one day" wording matters in practice: a claimant who waits until exactly 3 months after the triggering date has already missed the deadline, so it is safer to treat the limit as slightly shorter than 3 months rather than a round figure.

Redundancy Pay and Equal Pay: A Longer 6-Month Window

Two claim types get a longer deadline. For statutory redundancy pay, you keep the right if, within 6 months of the relevant date (normally the date employment ended), the payment is agreed and paid, you claim it from your employer in writing, you refer the question to a tribunal, or you bring an unfair dismissal claim. A tribunal can allow a further 6 months where it is just and equitable. Equal pay claims under the Equality Act 2010 also carry a 6-month time limit, generally running from the end of the employment relationship the claim relates to. This longer window does not extend the deadline for a linked claim of a different type. Someone dismissed and denied equal pay in the same situation still has only the standard limit (3 months less one day, or 6 months for an act on or after 1 October 2026) to bring the unfair dismissal or discrimination element, even though the equal pay element runs for 6 months, so each deadline in a mixed case needs working out separately.

The 6-Month Time Limit from 1 October 2026

In Great Britain the standard time limit for most tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages, rose from 3 months less one day to 6 months on 1 October 2026. The change is made by section 152 of, and Schedule 12 to, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), which substitute "six" for "three" in the time-limit provisions of the underlying statutes, among them section 111 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 for unfair dismissal, section 23 of that Act for unlawful deduction of wages, and section 123(1)(a) of the Equality Act 2010 for discrimination at work. Those provisions were brought into force on 1 October 2026 by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/954, made on 1 September 2026. A separate instrument made on 6 July 2026, the Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/758, makes the same 3-to-6-month change on the same date for a different and narrower group of claims brought under secondary legislation, including part-time worker, fixed-term employee, blacklisting and zero-hours claims.

Regulation 4(1) of SI 2026/954 provides that the Schedule 12 amendments do not apply in any case where the relevant date occurs before 1 October 2026, so for any such claim the 3-months-less-a-day limit still applies in full. Regulation 4(2) of SI 2026/954 defines that relevant date. For a complaint listed in Table 1 or Table 2 of the Schedule to that instrument it is the date set opposite the complaint in column 2: for unfair dismissal under section 111(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 it is the effective date of termination (see section 97 of that Act); for a complaint under section 120 of the Equality Act 2010 of a contravention of Part 5 it is the date of the act, or, where conduct extends over a period, the end of that period, or, where the complaint is of a failure to do something, the date the person in question decided on it; and for an unauthorised deduction from wages under section 23(1) of the 1996 Act it is the date the wages from which the deduction was made were paid, or the last deduction or payment in the series where the complaint relates to a series. For a reference under section 11(1) of the 1996 Act where the employment has ceased, it is the date the employment ceased. In all other cases it is the date of the act, conduct or failure complained of, or the last act or failure in a series of similar acts or failures. Where a claim involves a series of similar acts, the extended limit therefore applies only if the last act in the series falls on or after 1 October 2026.

Breach-of-employment-contract claims in the tribunal are dealt with separately again, by the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026, SI 2026/759, which also came into force on 1 October 2026, extends to England and Wales only, and turns on the effective date of termination (or, where there is none, the last day worked) rather than the date of the act complained of. For Scotland, the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2026 was still only a draft laid before the Scottish Parliament as at 1 October 2026; article 1 of the draft would bring the same three-to-six-month change for employees' breach-of-contract claims into force on 9 November 2026. Check that it has been made before relying on that date. Redundancy pay and equal pay claims already use a 6-month limit and are unaffected by this change. None of these changes amends the main Northern Ireland employment statutes (see below).

ACAS Early Conciliation: Why and How the Clock Pauses

Before issuing most tribunal claims, you must first notify ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and go through Early Conciliation; a tribunal will normally reject a claim submitted without an Early Conciliation certificate number, aside from a small number of exempted claim types. Early Conciliation exists to give both sides a chance to resolve the dispute without a hearing, and it directly affects the deadline. The period between the day you contact ACAS and the day the Early Conciliation certificate is issued does not count towards the time limit, so the clock stops for that stretch. Where the standard deadline would otherwise fall during conciliation, or shortly afterward, the rules extend it so you have at least one month from the day after the certificate is received to lodge a claim. In practice, this means contacting ACAS well before the deadline, since a late start to conciliation leaves little of that extra month to work with. Details at ACAS: Early conciliation.

Time Limits by Claim Type

Every deadline above is subject to the ACAS Early Conciliation stop-the-clock effect described above. The second column reflects Schedule 12 to the Employment Rights Act 2025, commenced on 1 October 2026 by SI 2026/954, together with SI 2026/758 for the narrower group of claims brought under secondary legislation, and applies only where the relevant date falls on or after 1 October 2026; where a series of similar acts is involved, it applies only if the last act in the series is on or after that date. Anything based on an earlier act still uses the first column.

Can a Late Claim Still Be Accepted? Two Different Tests

Tribunals have limited discretion to accept a claim brought after the deadline, but the test differs by claim type and it is not a formality. For unfair dismissal, a tribunal can only extend time where it was not reasonably practicable to present the claim within the time limit, and then only for such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable. This is a narrow test; simply not knowing about the time limit, or general uncertainty, rarely satisfies it on its own. For discrimination claims, the test is different and somewhat wider: a tribunal may extend time where it considers it just and equitable to do so, weighing factors such as the length of and reason for the delay and any prejudice to either side. Both tests give the tribunal discretion, not an obligation, to admit a late claim, and neither should be relied on as a fallback. Treat the deadline itself as the real limit.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Missing the time limit usually ends the claim before it is heard on its merits. An employer can, and typically will, ask the employment tribunal to strike out or reject a claim brought late, often at an early preliminary hearing, and if no extension applies the tribunal generally has no power to hear the substance of the dispute at all, however strong it might otherwise have been. This is why the practical advice is to notify ACAS as soon as a problem arises, rather than waiting to see whether it resolves informally. Early Conciliation can always end early if a settlement is not realistic, but it cannot be started retroactively once the underlying deadline has already passed.

Northern Ireland: Different Institutions, Unchanged 3-Month Limit

Northern Ireland does not use the Employment Tribunal or ACAS. Claims are heard by the Industrial Tribunal (and the Fair Employment Tribunal for religious belief or political opinion discrimination claims), and pre-claim conciliation is provided by the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) rather than ACAS. Northern Ireland legislates separately, and the 6-month extension described above applies to employment tribunal claims in Great Britain. Section 152 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 does say that Schedule 12 increases time limits in employment tribunals in Great Britain and, in certain cases, industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland, because an amendment in that Schedule carries the same extent as the provision it amends; but the main Northern Ireland employment statutes are not amended, so unfair dismissal and discrimination claims there are unaffected. In Northern Ireland the standard Industrial Tribunal limit remains 3 months (less one day), for example for unfair dismissal under article 145 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, and LRA early conciliation puts the deadline on hold while it runs. Anyone bringing a claim in Northern Ireland should confirm the current deadline directly with the LRA rather than assume the GB rules apply exactly.

For the wider tribunal process, see Employment Tribunal: Process, Time Limits, No Fees. For the wider employment rights picture, see the UK employment law hub and the United Kingdom country hub. Related guides include unfair dismissal and workplace discrimination.

This article is general information about employment tribunal time limits in Great Britain, not legal advice. Whether a specific deadline has passed, and whether an extension might apply, can turn on the exact facts of a case; consult ACAS, the tribunal, or a qualified solicitor before acting on your specific situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the time limit to bring an employment tribunal claim?

For most claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages, the time limit in Great Britain is 6 months from the act complained of (such as the effective date of termination for a dismissal claim) where that act falls on or after 1 October 2026, and 3 months less one day where it falls before that date. In Northern Ireland the standard limit remains 3 months.

Has the employment tribunal time limit changed?

Yes, in Great Britain. The standard time limit for most claims rose from 3 months less one day to 6 months with effect from 1 October 2026. For unfair dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages the change is made by section 152 of, and Schedule 12 to, the Employment Rights Act 2025, which regulation 3 of SI 2026/954 brought into force on 1 October 2026. A separate instrument, SI 2026/758, makes the same change for a narrower group of claims under secondary legislation. It only applies where the relevant act falls on or after 1 October 2026; a claim based on an earlier act still uses the 3-months-less-a-day limit.

Does contacting ACAS stop the time limit running?

Yes. Starting ACAS Early Conciliation pauses the clock for the period conciliation runs, and if the deadline would otherwise fall during or shortly after conciliation, you get at least one month from the day after the Early Conciliation certificate is issued to lodge a claim.

What is the time limit for a redundancy pay claim?

Unless the payment has already been agreed and paid, within 6 months of the relevant date (normally the date employment ended) you must make a written claim to your employer, refer the claim to a tribunal, or bring an unfair dismissal claim. A tribunal can allow a further 6 months where it is just and equitable.

What is the time limit for an equal pay claim?

Equal pay claims under the Equality Act 2010 also carry a 6-month time limit, generally running from the end of the employment relationship the claim relates to.

Can I still bring a claim after the deadline has passed?

Sometimes, but it is not guaranteed. Unfair dismissal claims can only be extended where it was not reasonably practicable to claim in time; discrimination claims can be extended where a tribunal considers it just and equitable. Both are narrow, discretionary tests, not a routine second chance.

What does 3 months less one day actually mean?

It means the deadline is one day short of a full 3 months from the triggering date, so a claimant who waits until exactly 3 months later has already missed it. Treat the limit as slightly shorter than 3 months rather than a round figure.

Does Northern Ireland use the same time limits?

No. The 6-month extension from 1 October 2026 applies to employment tribunal claims in Great Britain; section 152 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 reaches industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland only in certain cases, and the main Northern Ireland employment statutes are not amended. In Northern Ireland the standard Industrial Tribunal limit remains 3 months (less one day), with Labour Relations Agency early conciliation putting the deadline on hold while it runs. Confirm the exact deadline with the LRA.

Do I need an Early Conciliation certificate to bring a claim?

Yes, for most claim types. A tribunal will normally reject a claim submitted without an Early Conciliation certificate number, aside from a small number of exempted claims, so contacting ACAS is a mandatory first step, not an optional one.