Since 1 October 2026, employees and workers have had six months, rather than three months, to bring most employment tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. The change is made by section 152 of, and Schedule 12 to, the Employment Rights Act 2025, and it is one of the most significant practical changes in the Act for employers.
Three months less one day has been the standard deadline for decades, and many employers have come to treat that date as the point at which the risk of a claim falls away. That assumption no longer holds. In this blog we explain what has changed, which claims benefit and what employers need to do now.
What has changed
The primary time limit for most tribunal claims has doubled from three months to six months. The extension applies across the main employment statutes, including the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Equality Act 2010, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Working Time Regulations 1998, the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 and TUPE 2006.
In practice, this means the six-month limit now applies to claims such as:
- unfair dismissal;
- discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
- unlawful deductions from wages;
- whistleblowing detriment and dismissal;
- working time and holiday pay claims; and
- TUPE information and consultation claims.
Breach of contract claims were not included in the Act itself, but the government has extended them to six months through separate legislation. In England and Wales the change took effect on 1 October 2026. Claims which already had a six-month limit, such as equal pay and statutory redundancy payment claims, are unaffected.
The tribunal’s existing powers to extend time remain in place. A claim brought outside the six months can still be accepted where it was ‘not reasonably practicable’ to bring it in time (for example, in unfair dismissal claims) or where it is ‘just and equitable’ to extend time (in discrimination claims).
Which claims benefit
The six-month limit only applies where the ‘relevant date’ falls on or after 1 October 2026. The relevant date is usually the date of the act or failure complained of, or the effective date of termination in a dismissal claim. Where the claim concerns a series of acts, it is the date of the last act in the series.
The change is not retrospective, so a claim which had already expired before 1 October 2026 has not been revived.
Employers need to be careful with discrimination and other claims based on conduct extending over a period. Where an employee argues that there was a continuing course of conduct which ended on or after 1 October 2026, the six-month limit will probably apply to the whole claim, including acts which took place before that date.
Early conciliation
Claimants still need to contact ACAS for early conciliation before bringing most claims, and the clock is still paused while early conciliation takes place. Since 1 December 2025 the maximum early conciliation period has been 12 weeks, rather than six.
Taken together, the two changes mean a significant delay is now possible between the events in question and a claim being issued. An employee who contacts ACAS on the last day of the six-month period, uses the full 12 weeks of early conciliation and then takes the further month allowed after the certificate is issued could present a claim almost ten months after the relevant date.
What this means for employers
The longer window means a greater risk of claims, and claims arriving long after managers have moved on from the issue. We recommend that employers:
- Keep records for longer. Review your data retention policy so that disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence and dismissal records, including e-mails and meeting notes, are kept for at least the new limitation period plus early conciliation. Retention periods still need to be justified under data protection law.
- Record decisions at the time. Clear, dated notes of the reasons for a decision are far more persuasive than a manager’s recollection ten months later.
- Plan for witnesses leaving. Take written statements from key witnesses promptly, and consider including a clause in contracts requiring employees to cooperate with litigation after they leave.
- Do not assume the risk has passed. Diarise the new deadlines when an employee leaves or raises a complaint, and do not treat three months of silence as the end of the matter.
- Consider settlement earlier. Where there is a real risk of a claim, a settlement agreement or a COT3 through ACAS gives certainty sooner.
- Review deal timetables. On business sales and TUPE transfers, warranties, indemnities and due diligence should reflect the longer period for claims.
How we can help
The extension to six months is a permanent change, and it applies to almost every dispute an employer is likely to face. If you would like help reviewing your retention policy, contracts or procedures, or advice on a current matter, please get in touch with one of our HR Advisors by emailing hr@perspectivehr.co.uk or by phoning 01392 247436.