Employment Tribunal Time Limit and Acas Deadline Calculator
For NHS staff in England, Wales and Scotland who are thinking about a tribunal claim after a dismissal, a redundancy, a discrimination or whistleblowing problem, a pay deduction or a contract dispute. Pick your claim, enter the date, and see the last day to contact Acas. Free, in your browser.
Last updated 19 October 2026. Checked against GOV.UK, Acas and the commencement regulations. How we check our figures.
Short answer
For most claims where the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026, you must contact Acas within 6 months less one day. For earlier events it is still 3 months less one day. Statutory redundancy pay was already six months, and Scottish breach of contract claims stay at three months until 9 November 2026. Early conciliation stops the clock if you start it in time, and leaves you at least a month once you hold the certificate. An unfair dismissal with an effective date of 1 October 2026 gives 31 March 2027. One day earlier gives 29 December 2026. Appeals and grievances do not stop the clock.
Your claim
Northern Ireland has its own rules and is not covered here.
Broadly your last day of employment. If you worked or were paid notice, it is normally the end of the notice period. For constructive dismissal it is the day you left.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Your result
Enter the date to see your deadline
For example, an unfair dismissal with an effective date of termination of 1 October 2026 gives a last day to contact Acas of 31 March 2027. One day earlier, on 30 September 2026, the old limit gives 29 December 2026.
Time limits by claim type
The date that starts the clock, and the length of the limit, depend on the claim. The Employment Rights Act 2025 moved most of them from three months to six on 1 October 2026, but only where the relevant date is on or after that day. A dismissal, an act of discrimination or a deduction before 1 October 2026 stays on the old three-month limit, even if you are reading this later.
| Claim | Before 1 October 2026 | From 1 October 2026 | Clock starts on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unfair dismissal | 3 months less a day | 6 months less a day | Effective date of termination |
| Discrimination, harassment, victimisation | 3 months less a day | 6 months less a day | Date of the act, or the last of a series |
| Statutory redundancy pay | 6 months less a day | 6 months less a day | Date employment ended |
| Unlawful deductions from wages | 3 months less a day | 6 months less a day | Date of payment, or the last in a series |
| Breach of contract (tribunal), England and Wales | 3 months less a day | 6 months less a day | Effective date of termination (or last day worked) |
| Breach of contract (tribunal), Scotland | 3 months less a day until 9 November 2026, then 6 | Date of the breach | |
| Whistleblowing detriment | 3 months less a day | 6 months less a day | Date of the act, or the last of a series |
The claim with a different limit. Statutory redundancy pay is the one where nothing changed: it was six months less a day before 1 October 2026 and still is. Equal pay claims were also already six months, according to Acas. Scottish breach of contract is the one that has not moved yet. And a request for interim relief, which can follow an unfair dismissal, has a limit of only 7 days. If you have more than one claim, for example unfair dismissal and discrimination, each has its own clock, so work each one out and act on the earliest.
If you were dismissed because you blew the whistle, the claim is unfair dismissal, not detriment, and the dismissal limit applies. See NHS whistleblowing rights for how the protection works, and unfair versus constructive dismissal in the NHS for what counts as each.
How Acas early conciliation changes the deadline
Before you can make most tribunal claims you must contact Acas, which offers early conciliation. You must do that within your time limit. In the law, the day you contact Acas is Day A and the day you receive the certificate is Day B. Two rules then apply.
- • The clock stops. The days from the day after Day A up to and including Day B are not counted, so your deadline moves on by that many days.
- • You get at least a month. If your deadline would still fall between Day A and one month after Day B, it becomes one month after Day B.
- • It only works if you are in time. If you contact Acas after your limit has already run out, early conciliation does not bring it back.
Worked examples, run through the same code as the calculator:
| Case | Contact Acas by | You contact Acas / certificate | Claim by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dismissed 30 September 2026 (old limit), contact late in the window | 29 December 2026 | 20 December 2026 / 3 February 2027 | 3 March 2027 (one month after the certificate beats 12 February 2027) |
| Dismissed 1 October 2026, contact early | 31 March 2027 | 1 November 2026 / 15 November 2026 | 14 April 2027 (14 days stopped) |
| Dismissed 1 October 2026, Acas contacted on the last day | 31 March 2027 | 31 March 2027 / 14 April 2027 | 14 May 2027 |
Early conciliation lasts up to 12 weeks for anyone who first contacted Acas on or after 1 December 2025, so it can be long. It is not a reason to wait. The simplest safe habit is to contact Acas as early as you can once you know you want to keep the option open. Starting early conciliation does not commit you to a claim.
⚠Do not leave it to the last day
The calculator shows the legal last day. Acas gives the cut-off as 11:59pm on that day, but a misread date of termination, a letter that arrives late or an online form that fails at the last minute can all cost a claim. Build in days, not hours. Appeals, grievances and disciplinary processes inside your trust do not extend the limit, so a long appeal is the usual way NHS staff run out of time.
What has changed and what has not
- ✓ In force since 1 October 2026: the longer 6 month tribunal limit for most claims, for relevant dates on or after that day (GOV.UK, SI 2026/954).
- ✓ In force since 1 October 2026 for contract claims in England and Wales: six months where the effective date of termination is on or after that day (SI 2026/759).
- ✓ In force since 1 December 2025: up to 12 weeks of early conciliation (SI 2025/1153).
- ✕ Not yet in force, 9 November 2026: the longer limit for Scottish breach of contract claims. Until then the old three-month limit applies in Scotland.
- ✕ Not yet in force, 1 January 2027: the six month qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal, and the end of the cap on compensatory awards. GOV.UK says these are for dismissals from 1 January 2027, and all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.
How we calculate: method, assumptions and sources
- ✓ Picks the length of the limit from the claim type, your region and the relevant date, using the rules above. The rule is decided by the relevant date, not by today's date
- ✓ Adds the months to the relevant date, then takes one day off, as Acas describes. When the target month is shorter (31 August plus three months), it uses the last day of that month and then takes the day off, which can give a day earlier than other readings. Cautious by design
- ✓ Applies Employment Rights Act 1996 section 207B for early conciliation: stops the clock from the day after Day A to Day B inclusive, then applies the one month rule. It does not extend the limit if Day A falls after the deadline
- ✓ Does not decide what counts as your effective date of termination, whether a series of acts is connected, or whether a late claim would be accepted. Those are for a tribunal
- ✓ Covers England, Wales and Scotland. Scotland's breach of contract date comes from Acas and GOV.UK; we could not read the Scottish order itself, so treat that row as an estimate
- ✓ Runs entirely in your browser. Your dates are not sent anywhere
Sources: GOV.UK Employment Rights Act timeline update, SI 2026/954, SI 2026/759, Employment Rights Act 2025, Schedule 12, Employment Rights Act 1996 section 207B, SI 2025/1153, Acas: employment tribunal time limits, Acas: how early conciliation works and GOV.UK: make a claim to an employment tribunal.
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⚠Independent information, not legal advice
FrontlinePay is independent and is not affiliated with Acas, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the NHS or any trade union. This calculator gives a guide to the deadline. It cannot decide whether a claim is in time, whether you have a claim, or what your effective date of termination is. For anything that matters, speak to your union rep, the Acas helpline or an employment solicitor before the date.