Employment Tribunal Time Limit Reforms Approved

Earlier this year, the Government confirmed its intention to extend a number of employment tribunal time limits from three months to six months as part of its wider programme of employment law reform. We now have greater certainty on how and when those changes will take effect.

Two pieces of legislation have now been approved by Parliament, confirming that a number of employment-related claims will benefit from an extended limitation period from 1st October 2026.

Breach of Contract and Wrongful Dismissal Claims

The Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 has now been approved and will come into force on 1st October 2026.

The Order extends the time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims relating to:

• Breach of contract; and
• Wrongful dismissal.

For these claims, the deadline for presenting a claim will increase from three months to six months.

At present, this change applies only to England and Wales.

Further Tribunal Time Limits Also Extended

Parliament has also approved the Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026, which apply across England, Wales and Scotland.

These Regulations amend a number of existing statutory instruments to increase the time limit from three months to six months for specified employment rights claims, including those relating to:

• Fixed-term workers;
• Part-time workers;
• Collective consultation obligations;
• Exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts;
• Blacklisting; and
• Whistleblowing protections.

The extended limitation periods will apply to relevant acts occurring on or after 1st October 2026.

Transitional Provisions – An Important Detail

One of the key areas that employers have been waiting for clarification on is how the new time limits will apply in practice.

The legislation confirms that the six-month time limit will not apply retrospectively.

Instead, the extended time limit will only apply where the relevant act, detriment, less favourable treatment or other infringement giving rise to the claim occurs on or after 1st October 2026. Claims arising from events before that date will continue to be governed by the existing limitation periods.

What Has Not Changed?

Whilst the time limits themselves are changing, the legislation does not alter the existing rules around extending time.

In particular:

• Acas Early Conciliation remains a mandatory step for most tribunal claims;
• The existing rules which pause the limitation period during Acas Early Conciliation continue to apply; and
• Employment tribunals retain their existing discretion to extend time where the relevant statutory test is met.

What Does This Mean for Schools and Trusts?

The practical impact of these changes is that potential claims may remain "live" for significantly longer than many employers are accustomed to.

For schools and academy trusts, this may mean:

• Former employees having a longer period in which to commence claims;
• A greater likelihood of issues resurfacing several months after employment has ended;
• Increased importance of retaining investigation notes, disciplinary records, grievance documentation and dismissal paperwork; and
• A longer period of uncertainty before an employer can be confident that litigation risk has passed.

Whilst the reforms do not require any immediate changes to existing HR procedures, they do reinforce the importance of maintaining comprehensive records and ensuring that decision-making processes are properly documented.

Looking Ahead

The approval of these Orders provides a clearer picture of the tribunal reforms due to take effect later this year. The key date for employers is 1st October 2026, when the new six-month limitation periods will begin to apply to the claims covered by the legislation.

Episode 3 in our Employment Rights Act Implementation and Training Service looks at these changes in detail, view more information here >>