UK extends unfair dismissal claim window to six months
From 1 October 2026, employees in the UK have six months, rather than three, to bring tribunal claims under ordinary unfair dismissal rules. The change is the first wave of the Employment Rights Act’s dismissal reforms, according to HR News.
Yet the first comprehensive analysis across industries, regions and company size finds that more than seven in ten employers (72 per cent) did not know the claim window was doubling. The study, Unfair Dismissal: The Six-Month Rule, surveyed 1,500 SME decision-makers and was conducted by HR software company HRLocker.
Employer readiness and record-keeping gaps
Tribunals look first for the record an employer kept while performance concerns were live. A file assembled after a claim arrives carries far less weight, and most employers have no software specifically designed to keep one. Performance concerns instead live in email threads, spreadsheets, paper files, someone’s memory, or nowhere at all.
That pattern holds across every cut of the data. The best-documented industry, financial services, is split at exactly 50 per cent. The best-documented region, Wales, and the best-documented company size band (100 to 249 employees) both reach 45 per cent. In the worst industry, business support services, just 27 per cent keep a dedicated record system.
Upcoming changes and tribunal pressure
On 1 January, two more significant changes take effect. The qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims drops from two years’ service to six months, and the compensation cap, as of April 2026 the lower of £123,543 or fifty-two weeks of gross pay, disappears.
An estimated 2.2 million people in firms of 10 to 499 employees will have between six and twenty-four months’ service when the rules land, the band in which most SME dismissals already happen. The tribunal system is already under record pressure, with 531,000 open claims, single claims up 55 per cent year on year, and some hearings listed into 2030.
The exposure index
HRLocker’s Exposure Index scores every sector, region and company size on three measures: how often firms dismiss inside the danger window of six to twenty-four months’ service, how many firms do so repeatedly, and how many have no dedicated record system. The three are averaged into a single score out of 100, where a higher score means more exposure.
Across the 1,500 employers surveyed, almost four in five (80 per cent) dismissed at least one employee inside that window in the past three years, more than a quarter (27 per cent) did so three or more times, and over six in ten (62 per cent) keep no dedicated record system. That gives an all-employer score of 56 out of 100.
The five most exposed sectors are recruitment and staffing, hospitality, food and leisure, health and social care, construction and skilled trades, and business support services. The least exposed sectors include legal services, financial services, other professional services, manufacturing, energy and utilities, and IT, software and telecoms.
No sector, size band or region escapes exposure. The Index rises steadily with headcount, from 51 for firms with ten to 49 employees to 67 for those with 250 to 500, as dismissals grow more frequent despite improvements in record-keeping. Regional variation is narrower, with Scotland the most exposed region at 62 and the North East the least exposed at 53.
What this means for HR teams
HR teams should review their performance management and record-keeping practices now. Clear and consistent performance records let employees know where they stand and protect employers. They must show whether the employee raised any concerns, when, and how the employer responded.
Given the changes to the Employment Rights Act, employers should use the time between now and 1 January to ensure performance records are well structured, up to date, and would stand up to scrutiny should someone bring a claim. Rules vary by jurisdiction, so HR teams should consult legal counsel where appropriate.
Crystel Robbins Rynne, CEO of HRLocker, said: “From today, a dismissal made in the summer can surface in the spring. The window for claims has doubled before most employers have opened a file on the decisions they are already making.”
Consultant Solicitor at Cognitive Law, Amy Harvey, added: “Clear and consistent performance records let employees know where they stand and protect employers. They must show whether the employee raised any concerns, when, and how the employer responded.”
Sources: HR News
