Employment tribunal time limit rises to 6 months from 1 October 2026

Most employment tribunal claims move to 6 months less 1 day from 1 October 2026, but only where the act complained of happens on or after that date.

Employment & Career

Published 25 September 2026

From 1 October 2026 the time limit for most employment tribunal claims rises from 3 months less 1 day to 6 months less 1 day. The date of the thing complained of decides which limit applies, not the date you file.

Effective from: 1 October 2026
Who it affects: Employees and workers with a potential tribunal claim, and their employers

From 1 October 2026 the time limit for most employment tribunal claims rises from 3 months less 1 day to 6 months less 1 day. The change does not reach back: whether you get the longer limit depends on when the thing you are complaining about happened, not on when you file.

What the law does

The main change is made by section 152 of and Schedule 12 to the Employment Rights Act 2025. The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/954), made on 1 September 2026, bring both into force on 1 October 2026 (regulation 3). The instrument’s explanatory note says Schedule 12 extends time limits “for instituting claims to employment tribunals from three to six months”. Schedule 12 covers claims including unfair dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages, detriment (including whistleblowing detriment), discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and holiday pay complaints under regulation 30 of the Working Time Regulations 1998. The SI’s own Schedule does not list what is covered; it sets the “relevant date” for particular claims, and anything it does not name falls under the general act-date rule.

A second instrument, SI 2026/758, also in force on 1 October 2026, makes the same change from three to six months in seven other sets of regulations: part-time workers, fixed-term employees, information and consultation of employees, blacklisting, the two zero-hours exclusivity instruments, and NHS recruitment protected disclosures.

Breach-of-contract claims (for example unpaid notice pay) move by a separate order. In England and Wales, the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 (SI 2026/759), made on 6 July 2026, raises the limit to six months from the same date, 1 October 2026, with its own rule keyed on the effective date of termination. In Scotland the government’s timeline says the change for breach-of-contract claims takes place on 9 November 2026.

Some claims already had six months and are unaffected. Acas lists statutory redundancy pay, equal pay, certain claims against a trade union and certain claims by members of the armed forces.

The date that matters

Regulation 4 of SI 2026/954 says the new limits do not apply “in any case where the relevant date occurs before 1st October 2026”. The Schedule sets that date for each type of claim:

Unfair dismissal: the effective date of termination. Acas explains this is usually the last day of your notice period, or the date you were dismissed if you were not given notice.
Unlawful deductions from wages: the date the wages with the deduction were paid, or for a series of deductions, the last one.
Discrimination: the date of the act; where conduct extends over a period, the end of that period; and for a failure to do something, the date the person in question decided on it.
Most other claims: the date of the act or failure, or the last in a series of similar acts.

SI 2026/758 has the same rule for its seven instruments (regulation 10). Acas puts it simply: the longer limit “only applies if your time limit starts on or after 1 October 2026”.

So anything that happened on or before 30 September 2026 stays on 3 months less 1 day, even if you file in November.

A worked example

Acas works out a limit by adding the calendar months and then taking off one day.

Effective date of termination 15 September 2026. This is before 1 October, so the old limit applies: 3 months less 1 day takes you to 14 December 2026.
Effective date of termination 15 October 2026. This is on or after 1 October, so the new limit applies: 6 months less 1 day takes you to 14 April 2027.

Both dates are before any pause for early conciliation. If you were given notice in September but it ends in October, your effective date of termination is in October and you get the longer limit.

Early conciliation still comes first

You still have to notify Acas before you can make most tribunal claims, and Acas says you should do this within your time limit. When you notify Acas, your time limit is paused until early conciliation ends, but only if you notify Acas within the limit. Acas also says grievance, disciplinary and appeal procedures do not change your time limit, so waiting for an internal appeal does not buy extra time.

If a limit has passed, a tribunal judge can still decide to accept a late claim, but Acas warns that in most cases time limits are strictly enforced. Where a claim covers more than one type of complaint, or a series of incidents, Acas points to its helpline for help understanding time limits, and says you might need legal advice to work out the exact date.