From 1 October 2026, the standard time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims doubles, from three months to six. That's a longer window for a difficult exit to resurface as a claim, and it changes how much margin for error your process has.
What's changing, and why it matters
Previously, most claims had to be lodged within roughly three months of the event, dismissal, a discriminatory act, a pay dispute. From October, that window is six months. It gives departing employees far more time to seek advice, reconsider, or get around to it.
For employers, that's six months during which memories fade, staff move on, and notes that were never filed become impossible to reconstruct, exactly the record you'd need to defend a claim brought that late. Acas's guidance on the Employment Rights Act is worth bookmarking for what good practice looks like here.
Where this bites hardest
Termination decisions made informally, verbal warnings that were never written up, exit conversations that happened over coffee rather than in a documented meeting. Small businesses without a dedicated HR function are the most exposed here, because more of this tends to run on memory rather than on file.
The habit worth building before October
Keep a dated, written record of every dismissal, disciplinary conversation and grievance outcome, on the day it happens, not weeks later from memory. Hold onto those records well beyond the new six-month window, twelve months is a sensible baseline. This pairs directly with a wider audit of who's on your payroll and how: see our piece on running an employment audit before Q4 for the fuller checklist, and our full calendar of every ERA deadline this year for what else is landing alongside it, including what the 2027 minimum wage rise means for your budget.
FAQ
When does the tribunal time limit change take effect?
1 October 2026.
How long do employees now have to bring most tribunal claims?
Six months from the event, up from three.
Does this apply to all types of claims?
It applies to the standard time limit for most employment tribunal claims. Some claim types retain different limits, so it's worth checking specific advice for unusual cases.
What should small businesses do differently?
Keep dated, written records of dismissals, warnings and grievance conversations, and hold onto them for well beyond the new six-month window.
Does a longer time limit mean more claims overall?
Not necessarily more claims, but more opportunity for a claim to be filed well after the event, at exactly the point when memories and paperwork are hardest to reconstruct.
Sources
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