What is changing?

From Thursday 1st October 2026, the time in which most people can bring an employment tribunal claim increases from three months to six.

The new limit applies where the relevant date, broadly the date of the act complained of, falls on or after 1st October. For a series of acts, the clock runs from the last one. For a contract claim, it runs from the date employment ends. The rules that pause the clock for Acas conciliation still apply and the tribunal keeps its existing power to extend time where it is fair to do so.

Why does it matter?

It doubles the window in which a disgruntled leaver can turn into a claimant, and it stretches the gap between the decision you make today and the hearing that judges it. This change gives prospective claimants longer to consider legal action and obtain advice. For employers, it means workplace issues are likely to remain live for longer, increasing legal, financial and management exposure.

Longer limitation periods create several operational risks. Managers may move roles or leave the business before a claim is issued. Memories fade. Emails disappear under retention policies. Witnesses become harder to locate. Decisions that seemed settled months earlier can return with significant legal and commercial consequences.

This also affects governance. Businesses may need to rethink how long they retain investigation records, disciplinary documents and grievance files. If the supporting evidence is incomplete when litigation arrives, defending an otherwise reasonable decision becomes more difficult.

The party holding a clear, contemporaneous record tends to win, and that party should be you. So, the discipline of writing down why you did something, at the time you did it, matters more now, not less.

Longer time limits are also likely to influence settlement strategy. Some employees who might previously have missed a deadline will now have additional time to assess their options. Employers should expect a longer period of uncertainty before matters can safely be regarded as closed.

What should you do now?

• Review document retention policies to ensure employment records remain available for longer.
• Check investigation, disciplinary and grievance processes preserve evidence effectively.
• Train managers to produce clear, contemporaneous records of significant employment decisions.
• Keep contact details for key witnesses well beyond their leaving date.
• Review settlement strategies and recognise that potential claims may remain live for twice as long.
• Update litigation risk assessments and financial provisions where appropriate.
• Ensure boards receive regular reporting on employment disputes that could remain unresolved for extended periods.
• Lean on early conciliation. Use the extra runway to settle before a claim lands, not after.

Source: The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026