Employment Tribunal Limits Have DOUBLED | Employment Law News
What You Need to Know
From today, 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months.
This change is intended to provide parties with more time to resolve disputes internally and through ACAS Early Conciliation before litigation commences.
The extension will apply to the majority of Employment Tribunal claims, including:
Unfair dismissal
Discrimination
Unlawful deduction from wages
Whistleblowing detriment
Statutory redundancy payments
The new six-month limitation period will generally apply where the relevant act complained of occurs on or after 1 October 2026.
You are likely to see:
Claims being issued much later than they are accustomed to.
Potentially more claims, as employees have more time to obtain advice, gather evidence and consider litigation.
Greater difficulties with evidence, as managers' recollections may fade and key documents become harder to locate.
Ongoing uncertainty following dismissals, grievances and disciplinary processes.
The practical reality is that an employment dispute which might previously have appeared to have "gone away" after three months could now remain live for at least six months, and often longer once ACAS Early Conciliation is taken into account.
As an example, let’s say an employee raises a grievance on 2 October 2026 alleging bullying by a manager. They say the bullying started after a team summer party, and is ongoing as at 2 October 2026. In November, the grievance outcome is issued and the grievance is not upheld. No further issues are raised internally. At the end of February 2027, you receive a notification from ACAS that the employee has made allegations of discrimination and victimisation.
What to do now
Ensure disciplinary, grievance and redundancy decisions are fully documented and supported by contemporaneous records.
Review document retention practices. Whilst many employment records are retained well beyond six months, employers should consider whether evidence such as CCTV footage, call recordings, instant messages, Teams call recordings and access logs may be routinely deleted before a potential claim is notified.
Consider retaining investigation materials, meeting notes and witness evidence for a longer period following contentious employment matters.
Consider capturing written accounts and supporting documents before key witnesses leave the business.
Continue to deal with grievances and appeals promptly, but recognise that employees will now have a longer window in which to commence proceedings.
If you would like help navigating the changing landscape of employment law, please don't hesitate to get in touch:
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