New time limits to bring employment tribunal claims - 1 October 2026

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From today, 1 October 2026 the time limit to bring new claims for unfair dismissal and most other employment law claims under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (e.g. for unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, breach of family rights); and under the Equality Act 2010 (e.g. for unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation or failure to make reasonable adjustments) is extended from three months to six months.
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The extension of the original (primary) time limits provides employers and employees more time to resolve issues at work without an employee bringing a tribunal claim. In practice, an employee could be waiting a long-time for redress, and an employer may have legal proceedings hanging over it for a long time.
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The combination of the new time limit and the period of ACAS early conciliation means now, a tribunal claim may be presented to the employment tribunals up to 10 months after the act complained of.​

New Timeline to bring employment tribunal claims​

ACAS early conciliation

Before the original (primary) time limit expires, an employee must apply for ACAS early conciliation. ACAS early conciliation can last up to 12 weeks.
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The purpose of ACAS early conciliation is to enable an employer and employee to agree a resolution without recourse to tribunal proceedings, but only if both parties are willing. If both parties wish to negotiate, but a resolution is not reached by the end of 12 weeks, ACAS will issue an ACAS early conciliation certificate.
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If either party indicates that they do not wish to seek to negotiate a settlement via ACAS early conciliation, ACAS will issue the certificate straight away. A claimant cannot bring a claim in the employment tribunal without an ACAS early conciliation certificate.
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Employment tribunal proceedings

The time limit to bring a claim in employment tribunals is further extended for a short period, usually one month, after the date of the ACAS early conciliation certificate. The calculation is complicated and legal advice should be obtained to help calculate the extended time limit to avoid missing it.​
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Employment tribunal delays

Currently a claimant may have to wait up to two months for their claim to be accepted and sent by the tribunal to the respondent. The respondent has 28 days from that point to submit their defence.
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A claimant can wait up to a year for a preliminary hearing at which the employment judge deals with the preparation timetable for the full merits hearing, and if there are no preparation or other issues to deal with at that time, sets down a date for the full merits hearing. At present, the busier tribunals are scheduling full merits hearings for 2028 or 2029 i.e. up to three years after the date of the dismissal or other act complained of.
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Springhouse Solicitors have experienced employment lawyers who can advise about time limits and strategies for dealing with them. If you would like advice, please contact our client care team on 0800 915 7777 or via our website www.springhouselaw.com

Article by Louise Maynard

At Springhouse Solicitors, we offer a range of services, so please contact our friendly customer services team to discuss further via  hello@kilgannonlaw.co.uk or  0800 915 7777.

Disclaimer 

The above provides a general overview of areas in employment law and is not intended nor construed as providing specific legal advice.  This article is for information purposes only and is correct at the time of publication. It does not constitute legal advice.

01.10.26