Employment Tribunal Claims in England, Wales and Scotland

Who this guide is for

People who work or worked in England, Wales or Scotland and are thinking about an employment tribunal claim, or want to know if it is too late. It covers:

• How long you have to claim, the date the time limit runs from, and the change for acts on or after 1 October 2026.
• Acas early conciliation: when you must use it, how it pauses your time limit, and the certificate you need.
• Who can claim unfair dismissal, and when no minimum length of service is needed.
• What a tribunal can award, and the limits.
• Making a claim on the ET1 form, what it costs, the hearing, settling, and missing the deadline.

What this guide does not cover

• Work in Northern Ireland. Claims there go to an industrial tribunal under different rules: see the Northern Ireland guide.
• Whether your employer broke your rights at work in the first place, such as pay, notice or how you were dismissed: use the employee rights checker.
• Whether you are protected as a whistleblower: use the whistleblowing checker.
• Reasonable adjustments for a disability: use the reasonable adjustments checker.
• Whether a settlement agreement offer is fair: use the settlement agreement checker.
• Pay below the minimum wage: use the minimum wage checker.
• Redundancy pay when your employer is insolvent: use the employer insolvency checker.
• Claims in the county court or sheriff court, including small claims: use the small claims checker.
• Legal aid: use the legal aid checker.
• Appealing a tribunal decision. This guide does not cover appeals.

The questions that decide the answer

• When did the act you are complaining about happen? For a dismissal, this is the effective date of termination: in almost all cases the last day of your notice period, or the day you were dismissed if your employer did not give you notice. For a series of acts, it is the last one. On or after 1 October 2026: most claims have 6 months less 1 day. Before 1 October 2026: 3 months less 1 day, even if you claim after 1 October 2026. Without this date, the deadline cannot be worked out.
• What kind of claim is it? Most claims use the main time limit. Statutory redundancy pay, equal pay, certain claims against a trade union and certain claims by members of the armed forces have 6 months less 1 day. Breach of contract claims, such as unpaid notice pay, have their own rules, which differ between England and Wales and Scotland.
• Have you notified Acas yet? If not, that comes first for most claims. If you have your certificate, you have at least 1 month from the day you receive it to make your claim.
• For unfair dismissal: how long did you work there, and when does the employment end? With less than the qualifying service, you can still claim unfair dismissal if the reason was automatically unfair, and a discrimination claim needs no minimum service.

"I've been dismissed. How long do I have?"

For unfair dismissal, the time limit runs from the effective date of termination. In almost all cases this is the last day of your notice period, or the day you were dismissed if your employer did not give you notice.

If that date is on or after 1 October 2026, you have 6 months less 1 day. If it is before 1 October 2026, you have 3 months less 1 day.

Going through your employer's grievance, disciplinary or appeal procedure does not change your time limit. If those procedures take a long time, you still need to notify Acas before your time limit runs out.

"It happened before 1 October 2026" or "it has been going on for a while"

The 6-month limit applies only where the act you are complaining about happened on or after 1 October 2026. If it happened before 1 October 2026, you still have 3 months less 1 day, even if you make your claim after 1 October 2026.

For a series of acts, the date of the last act decides. For discrimination, the time limit runs from the date of the last act of discrimination you include in your claim.

"I'm owed wages or holiday pay"

A claim for unpaid wages or holiday pay has a time limit counted from the date the pay was due, not from the date you left. For a series of underpayments, it runs from the last one.

A claim for unlawful deductions from wages, including holiday pay, cannot go back more than 2 years before the date the claim is made to the tribunal. It is counted back from that date, not from the last underpayment, so claiming sooner protects more of it.

"I'm owed notice pay or other money under my contract"

A tribunal can only hear a breach of contract claim that arises or is still outstanding when the employment ends.

In England and Wales, a breach of contract claim, such as unpaid notice pay, has 6 months less 1 day where the employment ended on or after 1 October 2026. If the employment ended before 1 October 2026, it has 3 months less 1 day.

In Scotland, breach of contract claims, such as unpaid notice pay, are covered by separate Scottish rules and stay at 3 months less 1 day for now. A draft Scottish order laid on 31 August 2026 would give 6 months less 1 day where the employment ends on or after 9 November 2026. It is not law yet, so do not rely on it.

"I haven't contacted Acas yet"

Before you can make most employment tribunal claims, you must notify Acas to start early conciliation. It is free and confidential. Your time limit is paused while conciliation runs, but only if you notify Acas within your time limit.

If you contacted Acas on or after 1 December 2025, early conciliation can last up to 12 weeks. It ends sooner if either side says no, or if Acas decides a settlement is not possible. Acas says it can take around 9 weeks for a conciliator to be assigned, so do not wait.

Notify Acas online at acas.org.uk or call 0300 123 1100 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

Some unfair dismissal claims can ask the tribunal for "interim relief". That has a time limit of 7 days, and you might not need to notify Acas first.

"I've got my Acas certificate"

When early conciliation ends, Acas issues a certificate with a number you must put on your claim form. You then have at least 1 month from the day you receive the certificate to make your claim.

If conciliation succeeds, you get an agreed settlement without a tribunal hearing.

"I've missed the deadline"

You can still make a claim, but it is up to the tribunal judge whether to accept it. In most cases time limits are strictly enforced.

The tribunal can extend the time limit where it was "not reasonably practicable" to claim in time (for most claims), or where it is "just and equitable" to do so (for discrimination claims). These are narrow exceptions. Do not assume they apply to you. Take advice straight away.

"Can I claim unfair dismissal? I haven't worked there long"

You currently need at least 2 years of continuous employment to claim ordinary unfair dismissal, so anyone with 2 years or more qualifies. If your employment ends on or after 1 January 2027, you need at least 6 months.

No minimum length of service is needed if you were dismissed for an automatically unfair reason, such as whistleblowing, pregnancy, or raising a health and safety concern.

Statutory redundancy pay is separate: it needs at least 2 years of continuous employment.

"I was dismissed because of my disability, race, sex, age or another protected characteristic"

Being dismissed because of a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 is a discrimination claim, not "automatically unfair dismissal". The discrimination claim needs no minimum length of service, but an unfair dismissal claim for the same dismissal still needs the normal qualifying service. Pregnancy and maternity are the exception: a dismissal for those reasons is also automatically unfair.

Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis count as a disability from the day they are diagnosed (Equality Act 2010, Schedule 1, paragraph 6). A dismissal because of one of them, or because of absence linked to it, can be disability discrimination.

"What could I get?"

For unfair dismissal, the tribunal usually awards a basic award (worked out like statutory redundancy pay, from your age, years of service and weekly pay) plus a compensatory award for your financial losses. It can also order your employer to give you your job back (reinstatement) or another suitable job (re-engagement), though this is rare.

Injury to feelings is awarded only in discrimination claims. It is not awarded for unfair dismissal. Discrimination awards have no upper limit. The limits for unfair dismissal are under Money figures below.

If your employer does not pay the full award within 14 days of the tribunal sending its written decision, interest is added from the day after the decision was sent.

"Will it cost me anything?"

There is no fee to make an employment tribunal claim.

Cost orders are rare. They are usually made only where a party has behaved unreasonably or brought a claim with no reasonable prospect of success. Simply losing your claim does not usually mean you pay the other side's costs.

You can represent yourself, and many claimants do. Trade unions and free advice services can help.

"How do I make a claim?"

The claim form is called the ET1. Start it online from GOV.UK at gov.uk/employment-tribunals/make-a-claim, or send a paper form by post. It must set out:

• your details and your employer's details;
• the Acas certificate number;
• the type of claim you are making;
• the facts of your case in your own words;
• what you are asking the tribunal to award.

The tribunal sends a copy to your employer (the respondent), who usually has 28 days from the date it was sent to reply on a form called the ET3.

"What happens at the hearing?"

Most claims go through several stages before a final hearing: a preliminary hearing to clarify the issues and set a timetable; disclosure, where both sides exchange relevant documents; witness statements from you and any witnesses; then the final hearing, where evidence is given and tested and the tribunal decides.

Final hearings for simple claims may last 1 day. Complex claims, such as discrimination or several issues, may take several days. You receive the decision in writing, usually within weeks of the hearing. GOV.UK says a claim can take a number of months, and longer if there are many issues or they are complicated.

Respond to all tribunal letters and orders promptly. Missing deadlines in tribunal proceedings can result in your claim being struck out.

"Can I settle instead?"

Yes. Many claims settle before a final hearing, through early conciliation or a COT3 agreement, and a settlement can be reached at any stage. A COT3 is a legally binding settlement agreement reached through early conciliation. Unlike a settlement agreement signed with a solicitor, a COT3 does not need independent legal advice to be binding.

Deadlines you must meet

• Most claims: 3 months less 1 day from the act you are complaining about, or 6 months less 1 day where that act (or the last act in a series) happened on or after 1 October 2026.
• Statutory redundancy pay and equal pay: 6 months less 1 day. For equal pay, it runs from the end of your employment.
• Certain claims against a trade union, and certain claims by members of the armed forces: 6 months less 1 day.
• Unpaid wages or holiday pay: counted from the date the pay was due (the last one, for a series).
• Breach of contract in England and Wales: 6 months less 1 day where the employment ended on or after 1 October 2026; 3 months less 1 day where it ended before.
• Breach of contract in Scotland: 3 months less 1 day. The planned change is not law yet.
• Interim relief, for some unfair dismissal claims: 7 days.
• After early conciliation: at least 1 month from the day you receive the Acas certificate.
• How to count: add the months, then take off 1 day. Acas gives this example: if you were paid the wrong amount on 1 May, the 3-month time limit ends at 11:59pm on 31 July.
• Your employer's reply (the ET3): usually 28 days from the date the claim was sent to them.

Money figures

For dismissals from 6 April 2026:

• A week's pay is capped at £751 for the basic award.
• The compensatory award is capped at £123,543 or 52 weeks' gross pay, whichever is lower.
• A minimum basic award of £9,157 applies only to dismissals for certain reasons: trade union reasons, health and safety duties, acting as an employee or working time representative, or being a pension scheme trustee.
• There is no cap on the compensatory award if you were dismissed for whistleblowing or for health and safety reasons. Other unfair dismissals, including most other automatically unfair ones, keep the cap.
• From 1 January 2027 the cap on the compensatory award is removed for all unfair dismissals, including ordinary ones, where the employment ends on or after that date. If the employment ended before 1 January 2027, the cap still applies, however long the case takes.
• Discrimination awards have no upper limit.

Traps

• Do not use the 6-month limit for an act that happened before 1 October 2026. It stays at 3 months less 1 day, even if the claim is made after 1 October 2026.
• A grievance or an appeal does not stop the clock. Notifying Acas within the time limit pauses it.
• Discrimination is not "automatically unfair dismissal". The discrimination claim needs no minimum service; the unfair dismissal claim for the same dismissal still does, except for pregnancy and maternity.
• Statutory redundancy pay needs at least 2 years of continuous employment. Do not mix it up with the unfair dismissal qualifying period.
• Breach of contract claims in Scotland do not get 6 months on 1 October 2026.
• The 2-year limit on how far back a wages claim can go is counted from the date the claim is made, not from the last underpayment.
• Northern Ireland has its own tribunals and rules. This guide does not apply there.