Employment Law Claim Time Limit

Employment law is known for its fast-changing nature but did you know that employment law also has the shortest time limits in which to issue your claim compared to other areas of law?

Employment Law claim time limits are very important – if you miss the deadlines, you can lose any claim you may have had.

In most cases you only have three months from the event having happened in which to issue your claim. So, for example, in cases of unfair/automatic unfair dismissal, you will need to issue proceedings within three months from the date of termination.   Even for claims such as failure to consult (in either redundancy or TUPE cases) the date is also 3 months from the date of the last dismissal.  Similarly, discrimination cases of any sort need to be issues within three months from the date of the last discriminatory act having happened.

There are some exceptions, such as a claim for equal pay or the right to a statutory redundancy payment both need to be issued within six months.  Furthermore, in most cases the Employment Tribunals may extend time in cases where it was “not reasonably practicable” to present the claim in time but this happens rarely.  Lastly, with the requirement in most cases to notify ACAS of your dispute prior to issuing proceedings, time can be effectively “frozen” for one month (sometimes more) whilst ACAS try to assist you.  However, in general terms the message is clear.  If you think you have a potential employment claim do not delay.   Act quickly and take advice as soon as possible.