Time limits

The time limit for discrimination claims (except equal pay) is three months, less one day from the date of the discriminatory act. The correct way to calculate this three-month period is to take the day of the month immediately before the date of the discriminatory incident and then go forward three months.

The first step in any tribunal claim is to submit an Acas Early Conciliation Notification Form, available from the Acas website. This first step is mandatory and must be taken within the three-month time limit.

One exception to the normal three-month rule is the time limit for a claim for equal pay based on gender, which is six months (see page 91).

It is crucial to act quickly and to take legal advice on any claim. Where a deadline has been missed, extensions of time are rarely granted. No time extension is possible for an equal pay claim.