From 1 October 2026, the employment tribunal claims landscape is changing. From that date, employees will have an extra three months (six months in total) to bring a wide range of claims against their employer – that’s extra time to decide whether or not to bring a claim, to get advice, gather evidence and try to come to a settlement.
Background
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) makes a huge number of changes to employment law, and its various provisions are being implemented via secondary legislation at different stages. This started on 18 December 2025, when the Act was given Royal Assent, and stretches all the way into 2027. The increase to employment tribunal time limits is therefore just one part of a much wider picture.
Why the longer limit matters
A longer limitation period changes the risk profile of day‑to‑day employment decisions. Grievances, disciplinaries, restructures and exits that handled today may still be open to challenge much further down the line. That has consequences for document retention, the ability to investigate historic events, the volume and complexity of disclosure, the availability and memory of witnesses, and the organisation’s settlement strategy. It also affects budgeting when it comes to legal spend and insurance, as claims may materialise after a longer lag.
Consequences of the change
When the extension to employment tribunal time limits comes into effect, the immediate impact is likely to be a further increase in claim volumes entering an already stretched system. Latest employment tribunal statistics have revealed that cases are continuing to increase, while the number of claims being completed is falling, according to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics for April to June 2026. The Tribunal received almost 14,000 single claims during the quarter, an increase of 28% compared with the same period in 2025.
The change to time limits is likely to lead to more historic workplace disputes being brought that would previously have been out of time. Older claims carry practical risks: documents may be harder to locate, email archives may have been purged, line managers may have moved on, and witness memories will have faded, all of which can make fact‑finding slower and less reliable. Weak records and missing witnesses could increase the risk of a successful claim.
Adapting HR and management processes
It may be necessary to refresh document retention practices and ensure that notes of investigations, performance processes and exit discussions are captured consistently and stored for longer. Contemporaneous notes need to be locked in now to build good habits. Where key actors depart, consider how handovers can be made more effective and that live issues are discussed.
Grievances should be acknowledged promptly, the scope of issues identified clearly, and investigation plans set out. Interview records and other evidence should be kept in a structured file. Reasoned outcomes should be provided and follow‑up actions tracked.
Disciplinary and capability policies need to be applied consistently. Decision‑maker notes that show why dismissal or sanction was within the band of reasonable responses should be created and kept, and include considerations of alternatives, adjustments, and support offered. Procedural fairness should always be monitored at each stage.
