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

From 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 the Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) Regulations 2026, and it applies across most of the tribunal jurisdiction.

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

What changes on 1 October

The standard presentation period for most employment tribunal claims rises from three months less one day to six months less one day. business.gov.uk describes the change as bringing most claims into line with the existing six month periods for statutory redundancy pay and equal pay.

This is not the same as the unfair dismissal qualifying period change. The time limit changes 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.

The transitional rule

The new limit does not rewrite claims about old conduct. Where the act or failure to act happens wholly before 1 October 2026, the old three month limit still applies.

Where the complaint is about a series of acts, the extended limit applies where the last act in the series happens on or after 1 October 2026. That matters in practice because discrimination, harassment and detrimental treatment are often pleaded as a course of conduct rather than a single event.

There are specific transitional rules for some claim types, so the date analysis still needs to be done claim by claim. The starting point is regulation 10 of SI 2026/758.

Why this changes employer behaviour

The three month window has shaped a lot of bad habits. Employers sometimes treat an exit as settled because nobody has heard anything for eight or ten weeks. From October, that comfort disappears. 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.

This 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 to 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. Do not rely on a vague memory of three months or six months.
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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