Employment tribunal time limit calculator

How tribunal time limits work

Almost every employment tribunal claim has a time limit written into the law that creates the right. The limit is a period “beginning with” a trigger date, and because the trigger date itself counts as day one, the last day is the day before the matching date months later. That is where the familiar “less one day” comes from. A dismissal that takes effect on 15 October 2026 has a six-month limit ending on 14 April 2027, not 15 April.

The trigger date depends on the claim. For unfair dismissal and constructive dismissal it is the effective date of termination: the day notice ran out, or the day of dismissal if you were dismissed on the spot. For discrimination it is the date of the act, or the end of a course of conduct that carried on over time. For unlawful deductions it is the date of the payment the money should have been in. If you are unsure, use the earliest date that could apply. A calculation that turns out to be cautious costs nothing; one that turns out to be a day late usually costs the claim.

The deadline is the date the tribunal must receive your claim form (the ET1). Instructing a solicitor, sending a grievance, or appealing internally does not stop the clock. Only Acas early conciliation does, and only in the way described below.

What changed on 1 October 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 replaced “three months” with “six months” in the time-limit sections of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Equality Act 2010, the Working Time Regulations, the minimum wage legislation and around a dozen other statutes. The change came into force on 1 October 2026 and is not retrospective. The commencement regulations apply the longer period only where the relevant date is on or after 1 October 2026, so a dismissal on 30 September 2026 keeps the old limit of 3 months less one day, while a dismissal on 1 October 2026 gets six months less one day.

Contract claims are brought under a separate order in each part of Great Britain, so they changed separately. In England and Wales the six-month limit applies where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 October 2026. In Scotland it applies from 9 November 2026. An employee in Glasgow whose employment ended on 20 October 2026 still has three months for a contract claim, even though an unfair dismissal claim about the same dismissal has six.

Two claims already had six months and did not change. A claim for a statutory redundancy payment must be made within six months of the relevant date, which is usually the effective date of termination. An equal pay claim made after leaving must be made within six months of the last day of the employment. The calculator still lets you pick them, because the early conciliation and late-claim rules differ.

How Acas early conciliation stops the clock

You cannot present most claims without first notifying Acas. The date Acas receives your notification is Day A. The date you receive the early conciliation certificate, or are treated as receiving it, is Day B. Both dates are printed on the certificate. Section 207B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 then does two things, in this order:

1. Stop the clock. The days from the day after Day A up to and including Day B are not counted. In practice you add the number of days between Day A and Day B to your deadline.
2. The one-month floor. If the deadline worked out in step 1 would fall on or before one month after Day B, it becomes one month after Day B instead. This protects people whose conciliation ends close to the original deadline.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed in Luton Borough Council v Haque that step 2 is applied to the deadline as already extended by step 1. Two traps catch people. First, conciliation must start before the original deadline. If Day A is after it, there is nothing left to extend. Second, the extension comes from the first certificate. Contacting Acas again about the same matter does not buy a second pause.

Since 1 December 2025 the conciliation period can run for up to 12 weeks (it used to be six). Combined with six months less one day, that means a claim about a dismissal in October 2026 could legitimately be presented the following summer. Do not let that make you relaxed: the longer the gap, the harder evidence is to gather.

Worked examples

These figures are produced by the calculator above, and the site tests check them every time the page is built.

The third example lands on a Saturday. The deadline does not move to Monday. Present the claim online by the Friday or earlier.

If you are near the deadline or past it

A tribunal can accept a late claim, but the tests are designed to be hard to pass. For unfair dismissal, unlawful deductions and breach of contract you must show that it was not reasonably practicable to claim in time, and that you then claimed within a further reasonable period. Serious illness or being actively misled about key facts can work. Not knowing the law, waiting for an appeal outcome, or a representative’s mistake usually do not.

Discrimination claims have a wider test: the tribunal can allow any further period it thinks just and equitable, weighing the length of and reasons for the delay and the prejudice to each side. Redundancy pay has its own route: if you miss the first six months, the tribunal can still award the payment if you act within the following six months and it is just and equitable. Equal pay has no general discretion at all, although the start date moves in concealment, incapacity and stable-employment cases.

If your deadline is days away, notify Acas now (online is quickest), keep the acknowledgement, and diarise both the new deadline and a reminder well before it. The calendar file from the calculator includes a four-week reminder and, if you have not yet contacted Acas, the last day to start conciliation.

Common mistakes

• Counting from the date you resigned or were told of the dismissal, rather than the effective date of termination.
• Assuming the statutory-notice extension that applies to qualifying service also extends the time limit. It does not; the time limit runs from the actual effective date of termination.
• Waiting for an internal appeal to finish. The clock keeps running throughout.
• Treating a series of acts as continuing when they are really separate. Each separate act can have its own deadline.
• Lodging a breach of contract claim in the tribunal for more than £25,000, the tribunal’s limit for contract claims. Larger claims go to the civil courts.

Related pages

• Constructive dismissal time limits explains the effective date of termination after a resignation.
• Acas early conciliation covers what happens during conciliation and how to notify.
• Employment tribunal UK and the tribunal timeline cover what happens after you claim.
• Unfair dismissal qualifying period calculator checks whether you have enough service to claim at all.
• Unfair dismissal UK and employment tribunal compensation.

Frequently asked questions

Is the tribunal time limit now six months?

For most claims, yes, where the act or dismissal happened on or after 1 October 2026. The Employment Rights Act 2025 changed three months to six months for unfair dismissal, discrimination, unlawful deductions from wages and most other tribunal claims. If the act or dismissal was before 1 October 2026, the old limit (3 months less one day) still applies.

Does the six-month limit apply to breach of contract claims in Scotland?

Only where the effective date of termination is on or after 9 November 2026. In England and Wales the change for contract claims started on 1 October 2026, like the other claims.

How does Acas early conciliation change my deadline?

The days from the day after Day A up to and including Day B are not counted, so the deadline moves later by that many days. If the deadline would then fall before one month after Day B, it moves to one month after Day B instead. Early conciliation must start before your original deadline has passed.

What if my deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday?

Do not count on it moving to the next working day. Claims can be submitted online at any time, so treat a weekend or bank holiday deadline as the real deadline and aim to submit well before it.

Can I claim after the deadline?

Sometimes, but it is hard. For unfair dismissal, wages and contract claims you must show it was not reasonably practicable to claim in time. For discrimination the tribunal can extend time if it is just and equitable. Neither is automatic.