Employment law
Employment Tribunal time limits are doubling: what should employers do differently?
6 minute read
Employment Law & People Risk
From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims increases from three months to six months. The change gives workers longer to consider a claim and means employers may need to explain and evidence decisions long after the event.
This is easy to treat as a procedural change, but its practical effect reaches into everyday management. A decision made during probation, an absence discussion, a performance process or an exit may now remain exposed to challenge for longer. The quality of the decision still matters, but so does the quality of the evidence retained around it.
Employment decisions may need to withstand scrutiny for longer. Clear records, consistent processes and documented reasoning become even more important.
From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most Employment Tribunal claims increases from 3 months minus one day to 6 months minus one day. Employment decisions may need to withstand scrutiny for longer, making clear records and consistent processes especially important.
What employers should review
Check that managers record the reasons for important decisions when they are made, rather than trying to reconstruct them later. Review document retention, escalation routes and the consistency of disciplinary, grievance and dismissal processes. The aim is not more paperwork for its own sake, but a reliable account of fair decisions.
What is changing
The government implementation timetable confirms that the general Employment Tribunal time limit increases from three to six months on 1 October 2026. Breach of employment contract claims in Scotland move on a different date, 9 November 2026. Exact deadlines continue to depend on the type of claim, the date of the act complained of and the effect of Acas Early Conciliation.
Government guidance also indicates that the previous three-month limit will generally continue where the relevant termination or event occurred before 1 October. Employers should not calculate deadlines themselves in a live dispute without taking advice.
Why the operational risk changes
A longer claims window does not automatically mean a large increase in claims. It does, however, widen the period during which a potential dispute can remain unresolved. It also increases the chance that managers move roles, records become difficult to locate or recollections diverge.
Decisions may be reviewed months after the manager believed the issue had ended.
Informal conversations that influenced an outcome may become important evidence.
Inconsistent handling across teams may be easier to identify when records are compared.
Employee relations cases may remain live alongside restructuring, leadership changes or acquisitions.
Insurers and legal advisers may require more complete evidence before assessing a claim.
Five actions employers should take now
Strengthen decision records. Record the issue considered, the evidence reviewed, the options discussed, the decision reached and why it was reasonable. A decision letter should not be the only record.
Review retention practices. Make sure relevant emails, meeting notes, investigation material and outcome documents remain accessible beyond six months and are retained in line with data protection requirements.
Improve manager note-taking. Give managers a simple format for documenting performance, conduct, attendance, flexible-working and probation discussions. Notes should be factual, timely and stored in the right place.
Audit high-risk processes. Check how probation failures, restructures, grievances, dismissals and reasonable-adjustment decisions are handled. Look for gaps between policy and actual practice.
Escalate earlier. Define which decisions require People or legal review before action is taken. Early advice is usually more valuable than reconstructing the rationale later.
A useful test
Choose three employment decisions made during the last six months and ask whether an independent person could understand what happened, what evidence was considered, how alternatives were assessed and why the outcome was proportionate. If the answer depends on one manager remembering the conversation, the process is too fragile.
What good preparation looks like
The strongest response is not to create more paperwork indiscriminately. It is to make important decisions traceable and consistent. Employers should be able to retrieve the relevant evidence, show that managers followed a fair process and explain why comparable cases were treated consistently or why a different outcome was justified.
For smaller employers, a focused review of templates, escalation points and manager capability may be enough. Larger or multi-site organisations may need a wider audit of case management, record ownership and local practice.
HOW NOVE HX CAN HELP
NOVE HX can review how key employment decisions are made and recorded in practice, identify gaps in process, evidence and manager capability, and create a prioritised action plan to strengthen decision-making, record retention and escalation.
Could your employment decisions withstand scrutiny six months later?
If you would like an independent review of your current processes, records and manager capability, start a conversation with NOVE HX.
SOURCES
This article provides general information and is not legal advice.