Tribunal time limits doubled on 1 October 2026: what it means if you are managing someone out

Law checked: 26 October 2026. This article covers England, Wales and Scotland.

Since 1 October 2026, most employment tribunal claims must be presented within six months less one day, not three months less one day. The change is made by section 152 of and Schedule 12 to the Employment Rights Act 2025, brought into force on 1 October 2026 by SI 2026/954, and it applies across most of the tribunal's jurisdiction. SI 2026/758 makes the same change for claims under seven sets of regulations, such as those protecting part-time and fixed-term workers.

For an employer, the practical point is simple. A dispute that feels as if it has gone quiet can now stay live for twice as long. The notes, messages and investigation records you create are more likely to be read later, by someone looking for the gap in the process.

How long does an employee have to bring a tribunal claim?

For most claims, six months less one day. That includes unfair dismissal, discrimination and harassment, unlawful deductions from wages, and whistleblowing detriment. business.gov.uk describes the change as bringing most claims into line with the six month periods that already applied to statutory redundancy pay and equal pay. If redundancy is on the table, our redundancy pay calculator works out the statutory figure.

The clock is usually paused while the parties go through Acas early conciliation, which most claimants must start before they can bring a claim (for example Employment Rights Act 1996 s.207B and Equality Act 2010 s.140B). So the real deadline can be later than six months.

Breach of contract claims that arise on termination, such as unpaid notice pay, follow their own rules. In England and Wales the six month limit applies where the employment ended on or after 1 October 2026 (SI 2026/759, article 3). In Scotland the government intends the same change from 9 November 2026, under a separate order which was still in draft when we checked on 26 October 2026. Until it is made, the three month limit still applies to those claims in Scotland.

This is not the same as the unfair dismissal qualifying period change. The time limit changed on 1 October 2026. The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months on 1 January 2027. Keep those dates separate, because they answer different questions.

Does the six month limit apply to things that happened before 1 October?

Not if the "relevant date" for the claim fell before 1 October 2026. In that case the old three month limit still applies (SI 2026/954, regulation 4). What counts as the relevant date depends on the type of claim, and the Schedule to the Regulations sets it out claim by claim. The ones employers meet most often are:

• Unfair dismissal: the effective date of termination. Where someone is dismissed with notice, that is usually the date the notice runs out, not the date it was given. So notice given in September that ended in October gets the six month limit. Our notice period calculator works out the date notice ends.
• Discrimination and harassment: the date of the act, or where the conduct extended over a period, the end of that period. A course of conduct that carried on past 1 October gets the six month limit.
• Unlawful deductions from wages: the date of the payment, or the last payment in a series.
• Most other claims: the date of the act or failure complained of, or the last in a series of similar acts or failures.

Claims under the seven sets of regulations amended by SI 2026/758 have their own version of the rule (regulation 10). If you are dealing with a live dispute, work out the relevant date for each claim separately.

Why does this change how employers should behave?

The three month window shaped a lot of bad habits. Employers sometimes treated an exit as settled because nobody had heard anything for eight or ten weeks. That comfort has gone. A grievance badly closed in September can still be a claim the following spring. A dismissal handled without proper notes can come back after the manager who made the decision has forgotten why they made it.

It also changes the value of an early legal triage. Records created during a grievance, disciplinary or dismissal process may be disclosable unless privilege genuinely applies. Our guide to legal privilege and HR advice explains what is protected, what is not, and when the matter should move into Bonsai Law.

What should employers do now?

1. 1.Close processes properly. Do not let grievances, investigations or appeals trail off without a written outcome.
2. 2.Keep the decision record. Who decided, what they considered, why they decided it, and when.
3. 3.Diarise the real limitation date. Work it out from the relevant date for that claim, and allow for early conciliation.
4. 4.Treat a quiet exit as live for longer. Silence is not closure.
5. 5.Get advice before the paper trail hardens. If dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing or a senior person is involved, get the process checked early.

For the dismissal side of the problem, read Can I dismiss someone for poor performance?. For the wider legislative timetable, return to the Employment Rights Act 2025 pillar.

If you are already managing someone out, or trying to close a grievance without making it worse, talk to us.

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