Employment Disputes - Legal deadlines to be aware of

When dealing with an employment dispute, understanding legal deadlines is critical. Many employment rights are subject to strict time limits, and missing a deadline can mean losing the right to bring a claim altogether, regardless of how strong the case may be.

The following overview highlights the key types of legal deadlines to be aware of, with a particular focus on Employment Tribunal claims and how time limits are calculated.

Application to the Employment Tribunal (ET) – the most important deadline.

Most claims to the employment tribunal currently have a very short time limit of 3 months (subject to registering for ACAS Early Conciliation) starting with either:

Below is a list of all the claims that have a 3 month minus 1 day time limit.

Some claims have a longer time limit:

(This list is not exhaustive so if you think you have a potential employment dispute please speak to a legal practitioner or ACAS for advice).

It is important to note that logging the case with ACAS for Early Conciliation (EC) will pause the timer on the clock.

Once ACAS has ended you will get a certificate – from the date of issue you will usually then have 1 month to lodge the claim with the ET. This is an easier deadline to adhere to as it is easier to calculate for any non-legal professional. Otherwise, if you still had for example, 2 months left prior to starting EC then it would be the longer period. If in doubt lodge it sooner rather than later.

Once a Claimant has lodged their ET1 claim the ET will either accept or reject it. If accepted it will send notification of the claim to the Respondent (employer) along with the ET3 (defence form). The Respondent will then have 28 days to file their response.

Be aware that how long it takes the Tribunal to process the above depends on local backlog and for some it could even be as long as 12 weeks.

After this the ET has discretion as to how it runs the claim and what orders/directions it gives. You may be invited to prepare for and attend a preliminary hearing which will then decide how the case will be run and deadlines for certain submissions such as witness statements in preparation for the final hearing. If the final hearing date has not been decided yet the Judge may inform you of it at this stage.

Employment Tribunal deadlines are often short and can be complex, particularly where different events or types of claims apply. While most claims must be brought within three months (subject to ACAS Early Conciliation), some have longer time limits, and the clock can pause or restart depending on the circumstances. Because tribunal procedures and timings can vary, and delays are common, it is always safest to act as early as possible and seek advice if you are unsure. Understanding these deadlines early can help protect your position and avoid unnecessary risk.