Employment Tribunal Time Limits: 6-month limitation period arriving October 1st

October 2026 heralds another round of changes to employment law, under the Employment Rights Act 2025. One of the key changes being implemented is to extend the time limits for employment tribunal claims from three months to six months.

Previously most employment tribunal claim time limits amounted to a three-month limitation period, meaning after the time limit had elapsed an employee could not make a claim, this included claims for unfair dismissal. There were some exceptions to the rule, for example, claims relating to redundancy pay and equal pay. These types of claims already had a limitation period of six months.

Get expert HR and Employment Law advice for navigating these changes and others included in the Employment Rights Act 2025. Contact Croner today on 0800 470 9999.

Note: For breach of contract claims in Scotland, this change is expected to take place on 9 November 2026.

Changes to employment tribunal time limits in October 2026

The following will be implemented under the Employment Rights Act 2025:

• Effective October 1st 2026 the time limit for most claims will be extended to six months (less one day).

• The above applies to claims where the act (or failure to act) that lead to the claim happens on or after the 1st of October 2026.

How are employment tribunals time limits calculated?

The date that the time limit to raise a claim to an employment tribunal starts, depends on the type of claim being raised. In most cases it's calculated from the date that the incident happened, for example:

• Unfair dismissal claims: The time limit starts from the effective date of termination, in most cases this is the last date of the employees notice period. In cases where there is no notice given, this would be on the date that you dismissed the employee.

• Pay and wage claims: The time six-month time limit will apply from the date that the employee was not paid correctly.

• Discrimination claims: The time limit for bringing a claim to tribunal starts from the date of the last act of discrimination the employee included in their claim.

Some time limits can be more troublesome to work out, especially if you're dealing with multiple claims from the same employee, for instance a claim of unfair dismissal and discrimination. In these instances, it would be beneficial to get professional employer specific legal advice.

Does Acas early conciliation affect time limits?

In short yes, if an employee raises a claim to Acas then they will typically offer them early conciliation, where a conciliator engages both your business and the employee in an attempt to come to an acceptable agreement. This will effectively pause the time limit until this process ends.

To qualify for this, the employee must have notified Acas within the employment tribunal time limit.

Get support on all upcoming changes to employment rights

If your business needs support on anything laid out in the Employment Rights Act 2025 including extension of time limits of employment tribunals. Then talk to a Croner Employment Law and HR professional, today.

With over 80 years in assisting businesses of all sizes with the ever-changing landscape of employment law, we can help your business through expert legal advice, through to robust policy creation and bespoke documentation.

We also have a specialist tribunal service that can help your business when dealing with employee claims including, unfair dismissal, redundancy and more.

Talk to us today on 0800 470 9999.