The new 6-month tribunal deadline and what it means for you

Guidance from your HR consultant in Thanet on how the extended employment tribunal time limit affects small businesses and what you can do right now to protect yours.

As a small business owner, you've probably relied on the fact that most tribunal claims had to be filed within three months.

That deadline has now doubled.

From 1 October 2026, employees have six months to bring a claim against you. The government estimates this will increase tribunal claims by 17%, but from what I'm seeing, I'd expect it to be higher than that.

Here's what you need to know and what to do about it.

What you should be doing right now

Let me start with the practical stuff, because that's what matters most.

If your internal processes are already solid, the new time limit raises the stakes on everything you're already doing. If they're not solid, this is the point where gaps start to cost you.

Here's what good looks like:

• Every disciplinary conversation, performance discussion and grievance outcome needs to be recorded in writing
• Your disciplinary and grievance procedures need to follow the Acas Code of Practice
• Policies must be applied consistently across your whole team
• Probation reviews need to actually happen, and they need to be documented
• There should be a clear paper trail showing how decisions were made and why

Of all of these, documentation is the one that wins or loses tribunal cases. If you can't produce evidence of what happened and why six months after the event, you could lose on paperwork alone. That's genuinely how it works.

You should also think about how long you're keeping HR records. Files, emails, notes from meetings. If you've been clearing these out after a few months, that needs to change. When a claim lands, you can only rely on evidence that still exists.

So what's actually changed?

From 1 October 2026, the deadline for most employment tribunal claims moved from three months to six months. This applies to unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing and unlawful deductions from wages, among other claim types.

The extended deadline only covers acts or dismissals that take place on or after 1 October 2026. Anything that happened before that date still falls under the old three-month rule.

There's an important detail around connected acts too. If a claim involves a series of linked events, the six-month limit applies as long as the final act in that series falls on or after 1 October.

Why this changes the risk for your business

Under the old rules, once three months had passed without hearing anything, you could feel fairly confident that a claim wasn't coming.

Six months changes that picture completely.

Someone you let go in October could file a claim in April. A grievance from November could turn into a tribunal case the following May. Situations you thought were behind you can resurface months later, often with legal representation involved.

The extra time also gives former employees more opportunity to seek legal advice and prepare a stronger case. A claim that's been put together over several months is harder to defend than one filed in a rush at the last minute under the old deadline.

Do your managers understand this?

Your managers are the ones making day-to-day decisions about performance and conduct. Those are exactly the kinds of decisions that end up being scrutinised at tribunal.

If they're handling these situations without keeping proper records, the extended time limit makes every one of those decisions riskier. It's worth having a direct conversation with them now about what needs to change.

Even well-intentioned managers can create problems if they're dealing with things informally and not writing anything down. A quiet chat about someone's performance might feel like the right approach at the time. But if that person brings a claim four months later, you'll need evidence of what was said and when.

Questions worth asking yourself

Before October 2026 arrives, it's worth sitting down and honestly assessing where your business stands. Here are a few questions to consider:

• If an employee you dismissed today brought a claim in six months, could you produce all the documentation to show the process was fair?
• Are your managers recording the detail of performance conversations, or just having informal chats?
• Do you know how long your HR files are currently being retained, and is that long enough?
• When was the last time your disciplinary and grievance procedures were reviewed against the Acas Code?
• If you had to hand your records to a solicitor tomorrow, would they have everything they need?

If any of those gave you pause, it's better to address it now than after a claim arrives.

How I can help

I carry out process and documentation reviews to make sure your business meets the standard a tribunal would expect. This covers your disciplinary and grievance procedures alongside your record-keeping practices.

As part of my HR consultancy services in Thanet, I work with small businesses to get these foundations right before problems arise.

Sorting this out before a claim lands is always cheaper and far less stressful than trying to fix it afterwards.

If you're not sure whether your processes are ready for the new six-month deadline, let's have a chat. I can take a look at where you are now and help you close any gaps.

Get in touch to book a free discovery call and we can talk through what your business needs.