How long do I have to submit a claim?

How long do I have to submit a claim?

Wondering how long you have to submit a claim? You should act quickly, because the time limits may be tighter than you think.

The short answer is: “Usually within three months”. Read this article to discover the longer answer.

First things first

If you have a problem at work, the first step is to attempt to resolve things informally. Just talk to your employer to see if you can work out a solution between you.

If that doesn’t work, you should go through your employer’s formal grievance procedure – you’ll find details of how to do this in your staff handbook or employment contract. (We can help with that if necessary.)

Dates are important

If you miss the deadline, you might find it’s too late to make your employment law claim. That’s one reason why it’s important to take legal advice early.

The other aspect to consider is the time limit to qualify – this varies across the examples below. Sometimes, you can claim even though you are a brand new starter (such as health and safety claims). Sometimes you have to wait until you’ve had two years of continuous employment.

We’re employment lawyers, so the sooner you get in touch to tell us about your situation, the sooner we can help you and the best chance you’ll have of success.

Making a claim for constructive dismissal or unfair dismissal

In most claims for constructive dismissal or unfair dismissal, you should make your claim within three months less one day from the date your employment was terminated (that is, the last date your employer paid you until) or from the date of the incident that triggered your claim.

Making a claim for breach of contract

If you’re claiming for breach of contract, you have three months from the last day you worked, or the date your employment was terminated.

Employment tribunals can deal with breach-of-contract claims up to £25,000. For amounts above that, you’d have to go to the civil courts. For those, the claim deadline is six years from the date of the incident.

Making a claim for discrimination

If the discrimination happened on a single occasion, you must make your claim within three months less one day of the event.

The deadline is the same if there was a sequence of discriminatory behaviours that have now stopped. You must claim within three months less one day of the most recent incident.

If the discrimination is ongoing, you can claim for discrimination that happened more than three months before, provided that you complained about the behaviour at the time and your employer failed to act.

Making a claim for redundancy

If your employer failed to carry out a proper consultation over collective redundancies, you have three months from the date your role was made redundant in order to make a claim.

If your employer fails to pay your statutory or contractual redundancy pay, or if you’re disputing the amount they should pay you, the deadline is six months from the date of redundancy.

Making a claim for whistleblowing

If you ‘blew the whistle’ on bad behaviour by your employer, and suffered detriment or were dismissed as a result, you have three months to make a claim (starting from the date you suffered detriment or dismissal).

Making a claim for equal pay

If you haven’t been paid equal money for equal work, the time limit for making a claim is six months from the date your employment was terminated.

Making a claim for family and pregnancy rights

The time limit is three months for these situations:

You asked for unpaid parental leave and your employer refused
You asked for paid time off for antenatal care, and your employer refused
You asked for unpaid time off to care for dependents, and your employer refused
You suffered detriment at work relating to pregnancy, childbirth, or maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave

Making a claim for unlawful deduction from wages

If your employer has deducted an amount from your wages that they shouldn’t have done, you have three months to make a claim starting from the date of the most recent wrongful deduction. This includes:

Holiday pay
Commission
Your usual salary or wages

Bonuses

For bonuses, the time limit is three months less one day starting from the date you were due to get the bonus or the date you were told you weren’t getting it. This relates to bonuses that are guaranteed as part of your contract. If you were expecting a discretionary bonus that you didn’t get, you’d have to claim under breach of contract (see above) and not unlawful deduction.

Sick pay

If you’ve been off sick for more than four days, your employer Should pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for up to 28 weeks. If they fail to do this, you have three months to make a claim, starting from the date the payment was due.

Making a claim under the Working Time Regulations

The time limit is three months to make a claim in any of these situations:

Your employer failed to give you daily and weekly rest breaks
They didn’t give you the holiday pay you’re due (whether while you worked there or when you left)
You were treated badly because you’re on a part-time or fixed-term contract
You were treated badly because you requested flexible working

Making a claim for TUPE

If your employer failed to do a proper consultation before transferring you under TUPE regulations, you have three months to make a claim, starting from the date the transfer was completed.

Make a claim relating to trade unions

If you are refused employment, or you’re dismissed, or you suffer detriment at work because of your trade union membership or activities, you have three months to make a claim, starting from the date of the event.

Early conciliation through Acas

From the above, you might think the usual limit is three months, or three months less one day.

However, it’s more complicated than that, because for some claims you have to go through the Acas early conciliation scheme. You don’t have a choice about this – it’s the law. And it’s a good thing, as it might help avoid the time and hassle of going to the employment tribunal. Not only that, but it’s free!

So what you really have to do is contact Acas as soon as possible within the time limit of three months less one day.

What happens then is that the ‘clock stops ticking’. The Acas process then takes at least one month and possibly up to 14 months.

When Acas issue the early conciliation certificate, the clock starts ticking again – and if you want to go ahead with your claim, you will have the remaining time to do so.

You don’t always have to go through Acas, it depends on what type of claim you’re making.

As you can see, it’s not straightforward. But we can tell you exactly which dates apply in your individual situation, so do give us a call.

What this means to you

Whatever stage you’re at in the process, the best things to do is contact us for a conversation. It’s free and with no obligation. Tell us the problems you’re having at work, and we’ll let you know the next steps.

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