Employment Tribunal Time Limits

What are Employment Tribunal Time Limits?

For the large majority of complaints, employees are required to make any relevant claim in the Employment Tribunal within 3 months (less 1 day) of the issue arising. If the claim has not been brought within that period, the Employment Tribunal will not have jurisdiction to consider the complaint unless the employee is able to demonstrate that it falls within certain exceptions. These exceptions should not be taken for granted and it is not uncommon for claims to be struck out because claimants are unable to show that it was not reasonably practicable for them to have brought the complaint in time (the first part of the test for extending time for many complaints).

In an arena where claimants are not required to pay an issue fee on making a claim and businesses are unlikely to recover the costs associated with defending themselves, the time limits provide some safeguard for businesses who may otherwise face an unrestricted risk of litigation in respect of anyone they have ever employed.

However, the 3 month time limit commonly provides problems for workers, particularly those who are not aware of the requirements. By way of example, a worker may consider that they have not received a promotion because they had previously blown the whistle on inadequate health and safety procedures in the business. When factoring in the time that may be used up by initially raising a complaint and then going through internal processes such as a grievance and appeal, an employee may find themselves beyond the 3 month time limit before they even consider reaching out for legal advice. Ignorance of the time limits is unlikely to be enough to get around the strict requirements.

Reform

In October 2026: The Employment Rights Act 2025 will increase the time limit within which employees are able to make an Employment Tribunal claim from 3 months to 6 months, except for breach of contract claims arising or outstanding on termination of employment.

What does this mean?

The increase to 6 months will allow employees more time to consider their position and bring a claim against their employer.

Employers may experience a higher number of complaints being brought against them. It would be advisable to consider what this means for record-keeping practices in respect of grievance and disciplinary processes, and whether the length of time for which records are kept should be extended. However, it will also extend the time available for resolving disputes before a claimant has to submit a claim.

It may also mean that final hearings are scheduled for a long time after the claimant’s employment has ended and this may impact witness evidence as memories fade and witnesses may move on to new employment.

The Fair Work Agency

Current position

When a worker wishes to enforce their working rights, the most common course of action is to present a complaint to the Employment Tribunal. Less commonly, the State has powers to enforce certain rights through agencies such as HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Enforcement Team and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

With a number of different enforcement agencies in place, there can be some difficulties for those seeking to understand where they ought to go to receive assistance. The effect is that these avenues are not as regularly pursued.

Reform

In April 2026:The Government has proposed the introduction of the Fair Work Agency. However, it is unclear when their enforcement powers will come into force.

The introduction of the Fair Work Agency is aimed at streamlining the enforcement of domestic agency rules, the National Minimum Wage, licensing of gangmasters, and action against serious labour exploitation.

In addition, the Fair Work Agency will take on functions such as enforcing holiday pay and statutory sick pay, with opportunity for the Government to extend powers to cover other employment rights.

The Fair Work Agency’s powers are proposed to include:

• inspecting workplaces and requiring employers to evidence compliance with employment law;
• issuing Notices of Underpayment requiring payment and a penalty;
• bringing Employment Tribunal proceedings on behalf of a worker;
• enforcing compliance with the law where labour market criminal offences have occurred; and
• recovering enforcement costs from businesses.

What does this mean?

Rather than risking confusion amongst workers and employers as regards important employment issues, the introduction of the Fair Work Agency will provide a single point of contact.

The Government has set out that the Fair Work Agency will be there to support employers who wish to comply with the law, in the hope of resolving issues which may arise later.

However, the enforcement powers have the potential to give rise to significant cost to employers who do not comply. This may be of particular concern in areas like holiday pay which can be complex. Some employers may need to adapt their current approach to such issues and begin taking a more proactive approach to ensure they are compliant with the law. If not, they may find themselves having to make penalty payments to the Fair Work Agency, as well as paying any sums owed to workers.

If you would like to discuss anything related to the Employment Tribunal Time Limits, or indeed anything to do with the Employment Rights Act, please contact a member of the Employment team.

To find out what other aspects of employment law are affected by the Employment Rights Act, read our blog “The Employment Rights Act – When to expect change”.

We publish blogs and social media posts to give a general overview of legal and commercial issues, relevant at the time of publication, which we hope you will find interesting. Please note that legal rules often change depending on the specific facts of a situation. The law also changes over time following changes in legislation or new court cases. We do not actively update our blogs or posts once they are published to reflect changes in the law.