Loading…
Loading…
FREE TOOL
Most employment tribunal claims in England and Wales must be started within 3 months less 1 day of the event - and the step that has to happen inside that window is notifying ACAS, not filing the claim form itself. Enter your dates below to see the deadline that applies to your situation.
Covers England and Wales. This tool gives legal information, not legal advice.
For dismissal, this is usually your last day of employment (the effective date of termination). For discrimination, the date of the act you are complaining about - or the most recent act in a connected series. For unpaid wages, the date of the last missed or short payment.
The clock starts on a trigger date that depends on the claim. For dismissal claims it is usually the effective date of termination - normally your last day of employment. For discrimination it is the act you are complaining about, or the last act in a connected series. For unpaid wages it is the date of the last deduction. Our tribunal deadlines guide walks through the trigger dates in detail.
A small number of claims work differently: statutory redundancy pay and equal pay claims carry a 6-month limit. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to extend the standard limit to 6 months for most claims from around October 2026, subject to commencement regulations - until that change is in force, the safe assumption is the current 3-month rule.
Before you can file an ET1 claim form, you must notify ACAS and go through Early Conciliation. The day you notify ACAS, the deadline clock pauses while conciliation runs. When the certificate is issued you get the time you had left - or one month from the certificate date, whichever is longer - to file the ET1 form. That is why the practical deadline shown above is the date to start ACAS, not the date to finish your paperwork.
For most claims, including unfair dismissal and discrimination, the time limit is 3 months less 1 day from the event - usually your dismissal date or the act you are complaining about. Statutory redundancy pay and equal pay claims have a 6-month limit. You must start ACAS Early Conciliation within the window.
Yes. The day you notify ACAS, the deadline clock pauses for as long as Early Conciliation runs. Once ACAS issues your certificate, you get the time you had left, or one month from the certificate date, whichever is longer, to file the ET1 claim form.
In practice, missing the deadline almost always bars the claim. Tribunals can extend time only in narrow circumstances - where it was 'not reasonably practicable' to claim in time (unfair dismissal) or where it is 'just and equitable' (discrimination). Neither is something to rely on.
No. It applies the standard statutory time limits to the dates you enter, but your exact deadline can depend on facts the tool cannot see - the precise trigger date, a connected series of acts, or ACAS conciliation dates. Verify your date independently and contact ACAS early.
Ari helps you check whether you have a case, track your dates, and build everything you need before the clock runs out.
Start your case