Everything schools should know about the extended limitation period for employment claims

The Employment Rights Bill

During its election campaign last year, Labour promised sweeping changes to employment law in the United Kingdom which it set out in its ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ (the “Plan”).

Labour had committed to putting forward the Employment Rights Bill (the “Bill”) within 100 days of taking power, and with two days to spare, the Bill was published on 10 October 2024.

However, many of the changes set out in the Plan were missing.

Notably, the Bill was silent on issues such as the ‘right to disconnect’, the creation of a single status of worker and measures extending the time period within which employees can bring claims in the Employment Tribunals.

Instead, a ‘Next Steps’ document was published alongside the Bill, reaffirming the Government’s intention to implement some of the changes missing from the Bill in future iterations.

The latest revision of the Bill, published on 5 March 2025, includes the Government’s intention to extend the time limit for issuing proceedings in respect of the majority of employment claims, from three months to six months. This means that employees have twice as long to issue proceedings for claims such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, and unlawful deductions from wages.

However, the Bill does not alter the time limit for claims relating to breach of contract after employment has ended under The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Jurisdiction) (England and Wales) Order 1994, which remains at three months.

The reasoning behind this proposed change is that the Government hopes that this will not only strengthen employee rights but also help ease pressure on the tribunals service which has “increased sharply” in recent years.

ACAS early conciliation

Employees will still be required, as is currently the case, to engage in the ACAS early conciliation process before the Employment Tribunal will accept a claim. During this time, ACAS attempts to facilitate a settlement between the parties and the timescales for lodging a claim with the tribunal can be extended. Schools should therefore be mindful that, whilst the time limit is doubling, in reality, potential claimants are likely to have beyond six months to bring a claim where they engage with ACAS.

We are expecting that the extension of time limits to six months will result in a higher number of employment tribunal claims, which is likely to impact schools. In addition, ACAS, who, like the tribunals service, are already overloaded, are likely to be seeing an upturn in the number of complaints. There has been no indication from the Government that funding for ACAS will be increased, so we may see delays in parties reaching a resolution through the early conciliation process.

What can schools do to prepare for the change?

Whilst the Government has confirmed that majority of the changes included within the Bill will not come into force before 2026, it has been suggested that the extension to time limits could take effect in Autumn this year. With this in mind, and in advance of the Bill coming into force, schools should be mindful of the implications that the extended time limit will have and, in particular, consider the following points:

• Review your data retention policies – will these policies and the applicable timescales for retaining data be appropriate and sufficient once the timescale for bringing a claim is extended? It will be important to ensure that the school is able to retain the relevant documentation for sufficient periods following the termination of employment, so that it can defend claims if necessary.
• Make use of your internal processes and ensure that you comply with the requirements – the proposal to extend the time limit for bringing a claim to six months may give schools more time to resolve issues through internal procedures in the first instance. Where litigation cannot be avoided, a robust but fair process will make a school’s decision-making easier to justify and help schools to defend any claims.
• Ensure your insurance policies are adequate – do your current policies sufficiently protect you in the event of a claim? An increase in the number of claims is likely to see an increase in premiums, in what is already a turbulent economic climate for schools.
• Reassess your HR support – do you have sufficient support in place to deal with employee issues fairly, independently and in a timely manner? HR is your first line of defence against potential litigation. Consider whether you have the level of expertise required and whether your processes are sufficient, having regard to the scale of your school and its day-to-day operations.
• Seek legal advice where you are unsure – employees will have twice as long to consider options available to them. This means twice as long to gather evidence, take legal advice of their own, and bring a claim. It is therefore important to ensure the correct processes and procedures are followed. Advice should therefore be sought at an early stage.

Conclusion

The extension of the limitation period for almost all types of employment claim may catch schools off guard if they aren’t suitably prepared, particularly where claims interact with the many other changes to be introduced under the Bill.

Schools should consider taking the steps set out in this article to make sure they are ready for the change come Autumn this year.

If schools would like advice on this matter, we would of course be happy to assist.