NHS Dismissal Deadline Calculator & Guidance Advisor
Dismissed from an NHS job? Enter your dismissal date to see your ACAS and tribunal deadline, get a free check of where you stand, then build a personalised AI action plan. Last updated October 2026.
New to all this? Read Dismissed from the NHS: What Happens Next. Not dismissed yet? Use the Disciplinary Hearing Pack.
This tool is for after a dismissal. Still under investigation, suspended or waiting for a hearing? Use the Disciplinary Hearing Pack instead: it helps you request records, prepare a statement and brief your rep before the decision.
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Your personalised AI action plan
Complete the role, years of service, category, registration and dismissal date above first.
This tool gives general guidance, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for advice from ACAS, your trade union, or a specialist employment solicitor. FrontlinePay is an independent site and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, ACAS, the NHS, any NHS trust, NHS England, or any trade union or professional regulator.
Short answer
You must contact ACAS to start Early Conciliation within 3 months less a day of your effective date of termination for dismissals up to 30 September 2026, or 6 months less a day for dismissals on or after 1 October 2026. Enter your dismissal date above and the calculator applies the right rule, free and instantly. You also get a free rules-based check of where you stand, and one free AI action plan. This is general guidance, not legal advice: confirm anything case-specific with ACAS, your union or a solicitor.
Dismissal deadline: the rule, and what changed on 1 October 2026
To bring most employment tribunal claims you must first notify ACAS and go through Early Conciliation within the time limit, counted from your effective date of termination (broadly, your last day of employment). From 1 October 2026 that limit was extended from 3 months to 6 months, precisely "6 months less one day", for dismissals with an effective date on or after that date. Earlier dismissals stay on the old 3 months less a day. Anyone dismissed from 1 October 2026 onwards is on the longer limit. This calculator decides which rule applies from the dismissal date you enter, not from today's date.
| Effective date of termination | Contact ACAS within | Qualifying service for ordinary unfair dismissal |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 30 September 2026 | 3 months less a day | 2 years |
| 1 October to 31 December 2026 | 6 months less a day | 2 years |
| From 1 January 2027 | 6 months less a day | 6 months |
Sources: the GOV.UK Employment Rights Act timeline update, the commencement regulations (SI 2026/954), ACAS on the Employment Rights Act 2025 and GOV.UK: make a claim to an employment tribunal. Rules in Northern Ireland differ, so check locally if you worked there.
⚠Work out your effective date of termination carefully
Your effective date of termination is not always simply the day you were told. Payment in lieu of notice, a dismissal with effect from a future date, or a later confirming letter can all move it, and around 1 January 2027 a notice period can push the date across a rule change. If you are unsure, treat the date you enter as an estimate and confirm the real one with ACAS or your union rep well before the deadline shown.
Dismissal procedure in the NHS: what happens after the decision
After a dismissal, several processes run at once: your final pay, notice and holiday owed; your right to appeal internally; whether you have a tribunal claim; and, if you are registered, a possible referral to your regulator or the DBS. Our guide, Dismissed from the NHS: What Happens Next, walks through each in order. The tool above turns your answers into a deadline, a rules-based check of your position and, with AI, a personalised plan.
- ✓ Find your internal appeal window in your dismissal letter or trust policy today: they are often measured in days
- ✓ Note your effective date of termination and the ACAS deadline above
- ✓ Get the reason for dismissal and the date confirmed in writing
- ✓ Check your final pay, notice and unused holiday, and wait for your P45
- ✓ Contact your union or professional body, or ACAS, before you decide anything
- ✓ If you are registered (NMC, GMC, HCPC), read about fitness to practise now
Which tool when: Disciplinary Hearing Pack or Dismissal Advisor
| Disciplinary Hearing Pack | Dismissal Guidance Advisor (this page) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Under investigation, suspended or awaiting a hearing | Already dismissed, or the decision has been made |
| Helps you | Request records, prepare a hearing statement, brief your rep | Work out deadlines, understand your position, plan appeal and next steps |
| Price | £9.99 one-off, 90 days, with a free check | Free deadline and position check, £14.99 one-off, 90 days for unlimited AI |
| Link | Open the pack | You are here |
What the free tool, the AI plan and Pro each give you
| Feature | Free | Pro (£14.99, 90 days, one-off) |
|---|---|---|
| ACAS and tribunal deadline | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Rules-based "where you stand" check, copy and PDF | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| AI action plan | 1 AI use per device | Unlimited |
| Follow-up questions about your facts | No (the free use is one call) | Unlimited |
| Appeal letter or ACAS notification draft | No | Yes |
| Full case summary PDF with AI plan | No | Yes |
What it deliberately won't do
It won't tell you whether to appeal, whether you will win at tribunal, or what your case is worth: no tool honestly can without your full facts and evidence. It points you to ACAS, your trade union or Royal College, or a specialist employment solicitor for anything that depends on the specifics of your case, in the same spirit as our guide on NHS staff representation.
Why trust this tool
- ✓ Deadline rules checked against GOV.UK, ACAS and the commencement regulations, current as of October 2026
- ✓ The deadline and position check run in your browser from fixed, named rules: no AI involved
- ✓ The AI is instructed never to give definitive legal advice or predict an outcome, and to point you to ACAS, your union or a solicitor
- ✓ One free AI use per device and no hidden second call
- ✓ Independent: not affiliated with ACAS, the NHS or any union. See our editorial policy for how we write and correct guides
Related guides and tools
Dismissed from the NHS: What Happens Next
Pay owed, appeals, tribunal time limits, regulator and DBS referrals.
NHS Disciplinary Hearing Pack
For before the decision: records request, hearing statement and rep briefing.
NHS Disciplinary and Misconduct Process
The investigation, hearing and appeal stages that lead to a decision.
Fitness to Practise Explained
How a separate NMC, GMC or HCPC investigation works.
NHS Whistleblowing Rights
Protection with no minimum service, if your dismissal is linked to a concern.
NHS Staff Representation Explained
Which unions can represent you at an appeal or tribunal.
NHS Redundancy Pay Calculator
If your situation is really a redundancy rather than a dismissal.
NHS Pension: Ill-Health Retirement
If ill health is part of your situation.
Employment Tribunal Time Limit Calculator (NHS)
Free tool: last day to contact Acas for six claim types, with early conciliation and the 1 October 2026 change.
NHS Dismissal Appeal: Free Check and Pack
Free readiness check, deadlines and six grounds, then appeal letter, grounds, records request, meeting prep, rep briefing and follow-ups.