Employment tribunal time limit: your last day to claim, worked out

From 1 October 2026 most employment tribunal claims must be made within 6 months less a day. If what happened was before 1 October 2026, the old limit of 3 months less a day still applies. Notifying Acas pauses the clock.

The two rules now run side by side, and the date that splits them is the day it happened, not the day you claim. You put in your date; we show the arithmetic, step by step.

For a dismissal, use your last day of employment; for pay, the payday; for discrimination, the last act.

An emailed certificate counts as received on the day Acas sent it.

Free, before anything else. Acas early conciliation is free, and making a tribunal claim costs no fee (GOV.UK). You must notify Acas before you claim.

The 3 places people lose the date

  1. The split on 1 October 2026. Dismissed on 30 September 2026: 3 months less a day. Dismissed on 1 October 2026: 6 months less a day. That is one day apart and three months different.
  2. Acas must hear from you inside the limit. The pause only works if you notify Acas before your time runs out (Acas).
  3. The month after the certificate. If your extended date falls before one month after the certificate, the limit runs to one month after the certificate instead.

Longest case: it happened on 1 October 2026, you notify Acas on the last day, 31 March 2027, and the certificate arrives 12 weeks later on 23 June 2027. The last day becomes 23 July 2027, almost 10 months on.

Scotland, breach of contract: Acas says the limit stays at 3 months less a day until 9 November 2026. We could not find the Scottish amending order on legislation.gov.uk on 2 October 2026, so where the breach is on or after 9 November the clock shows both dates.

If you want the claim drafted from your own timeline

The £29 pack turns the dates and what happened into a numbered draft you paste into the claim form, plus a calendar file with 3 reminders. You pay £29 only for the draft and the calendar file, never for the date: the date and every step are free above.

How the dates are worked out, with every source.