Time-limits for presenting complaints to employment tribunals are generally strictly enforced.

Power to extend time usually depends on whether the Tribunal "is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable" for an application/complaint to have been presented on time (see ERA 1996 s.111 covering unfair dismissal and/or ERA 1996.s.48 covering cases of detriment short of dismissal). However in some cases, notably discrimination cases, a Tribunal's power to extend a time-limit can be exercised on a "just and equitable" basis (see for example Sex Discrimination Act 1975 s.76).

Short extensions are normally granted if the delay resulted from unforseeable postal delay, because the Tribunal office was closed or if the delay was deliberately engineered by the applicant's "opponent". They can normally only be granted if it was "not reasonably practicable for the" complaint to have been presented within the statutory time-limit although in a few cases (mainly under anti-discrimination law) a "just and equitable" rule applies. The Court of Appeal has suggested that there should be simpler and clearer rules, pending which it has laid down useful general guidelines (see Consignia plc v Sealy CA 2002 EWCA Civ 878 on 19th June 2002).

There are three time-limits which Tribunals do not have power to extend, namely:

• the six month period for claims under the Equal Pay Act 1970 (see Time-limits/for various applications to Employment Tribunals/Equal Pay Act claims );
  
• the six week period for an appeal against a non-discrimination notice under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 or the Race Relations Act 1976.
  
• the seven day period for an application for "interim relief" when an employee alleges unfair dismissal on grounds related to trade union membership or activities contrary to Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, s.152 (see time-limits/for various applications to Employment Tribunals/interim relief on unfair dismissal ).

Until April 2009 there was an automatic 3 month extension (so as to give time for negotiation/settlement) to the normal time limits for filing a tribunal claim in circumstances where the statutory dispute resolution procedures generally required since 1st October 2004 applied. Save for transitional provisions these statutory dispute resolution procedures (contained in the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 SI 2004/752) were abolished on 6th April 2009 when the 2004 regulations lapsed (see Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures - 2009 changes/transitional provisions and notes at Disciplinary procedures/time-limits ).

go to next updated reference in this note.

The general principle is that the fact that an internal grievance or disciplinary procedure is still under way is not of itself enough to excuse late filing of a claim to an employment tribunal (see Robinson v Post Office 2000 IRLR 804, EAT, Apelogun-Gabriels v Lambeth CA 2002 ICR 713, CA and Fatti v Look Ahead Housing & Care Ltd, EAT case EAT/857/01 on 21st June 2002).

For notes on the powers of employment judges (formerly employment tribunal chairmen) to extend time-limits, see

• Procedure of Employment Tribunals/2004 rules/rule 04 - responding to the claim and/or
  
• Procedure of Employment Tribunals/2004 rules/rule 10 - general power to manage proceedings and/or
  
• Procedure of Employment Tribunals/2004 rules/rule 11 - applications in proceedings and/or
  
• Procedure of Employment Tribunals/2004 rules/rule 18 - conduct of pre-hearing reviews .

See also TIME-LIMITS/for appeals to EAT from a Tribunal decision .