The doubled tribunal deadline and what it means for you
Guidance from an HR consultant in Camden, London on preparing your business for the new six-month employment tribunal time limit.
If you run a small business, you've probably relied on the fact that most employees don't get round to making tribunal claims in time.
That safety net has been removed.
From 1 October 2026, the deadline for bringing most employment tribunal claims has gone from three months to six months.
The commercial impact of that shift is larger than most business owners realise.
Here's what you need to understand and what to do about it.
What actually changed on 1 October 2026
The Employment Rights Act reforms extended the filing window for the majority of employment tribunal claims. Previously, an employee had three months from the date of the act or dismissal to lodge a claim. That window is now six months.
The types of claim affected include unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing and unlawful deductions from wages, alongside working time claims.
Two important points on timing. First, the new six-month limit only applies to acts or dismissals occurring on or after 1 October 2026. Anything before that date still falls under the previous three-month rule. Second, where a claim relates to a series of connected events, the extended deadline kicks in if the final event in that series happened on or after 1 October.
Why the old three-month window quietly worked in your favour
The previous deadline was tight. Many employees simply ran out of time. They were still trying to resolve things internally, or they hadn't sought legal advice quickly enough. By the time they considered a formal claim, the window had closed.
The government's own estimate is that these reforms will increase tribunal claims by 17%. From my experience providing HR consultancy services in Camden and across London, I believe the actual increase will be considerably higher. The old deadline was a genuine barrier for employees. Removing that barrier will have consequences.
How six months changes the risk profile for your business
Under the old rules, if three months passed after a dismissal or workplace incident without a claim landing, you could move on with reasonable confidence.
Six months fundamentally alters that calculation.
Consider the practical reality. Someone you let go in October could file a claim the following April. A grievance that surfaced in November could become a formal tribunal matter in May. Situations you believed were resolved can resurface months later, often with legal representation behind them.
There is another dimension to consider. The additional time gives employees the opportunity to take proper legal advice and prepare a more thorough case. A claim that arrives after five months of preparation is a very different proposition to one filed hastily at the last minute under the old deadline. It will typically be better evidenced and harder to defend.
Your documentation needs to be robust
Paperwork is the single most important factor in successfully defending a tribunal claim. If you cannot demonstrate what happened and why, six months after the event, you are exposed. Cases are genuinely won and lost on the quality of record-keeping.
What does good documentation look like in practice?
Every disciplinary conversation should be recorded in writing, including the outcome and reasoning
Grievance processes need to be documented from start to finish
Performance discussions should be noted, even informal ones
Probation reviews need to actually take place and be recorded
Your disciplinary and grievance procedures should align with the Acas Code of Practice
Policies also need to be applied consistently. If you handle a conduct issue one way for one employee and differently for another, that inconsistency becomes a vulnerability at tribunal.
You should also look at your record retention periods. HR files and related correspondence may need to be kept for longer than your current practice allows. If a claim arrives and the supporting evidence has already been deleted or discarded, you cannot rely on it.
Make sure your managers understand the implications
Your managers are the people making day-to-day decisions about performance and conduct. Those decisions are exactly the ones that end up being scrutinised at tribunal.
If a manager has a conversation about someone's performance but doesn't document it, that conversation effectively didn't happen from a legal perspective. Under the old three-month window, there was less time for undocumented decisions to come back and cause problems. With six months, the risk attached to every informal or poorly recorded decision has increased.
Have a direct conversation with your managers now about what needs to change. They need to understand that the way they handle people issues has a direct bearing on the business's legal exposure.
Questions worth asking yourself
Take a moment to consider where your business currently stands:
If an employee filed a claim about something that happened five months ago, could you produce written evidence of what occurred and why?
Are your managers documenting performance conversations, or are they relying on memory and verbal exchanges?
Do your current record retention practices cover a six-month window, or could key documents already have been disposed of?
When was the last time you reviewed your disciplinary and grievance procedures against the Acas Code of Practice?
If any of those questions give you pause, it's worth addressing them now rather than after a claim arrives.
How we can support you
We carry out reviews of your existing processes and documentation to ensure they meet the standard a tribunal would expect. That includes looking at your disciplinary and grievance procedures as well as your record-keeping practices.
Getting this right before a claim lands is always more cost-effective than dealing with it afterwards.
As an outsourced HR consultant in London, I work with small and medium-sized businesses to provide pragmatic, commercially focused HR support.
If you'd like to talk through how the new time limit affects your business, or if you want us to review your current processes, please get in touch to arrange a conversation.
Get in touch with Progressive HR Solutions to book an initial conversation.
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