Rule · ERA 1996 s.164

The 6-month claim window

If your employer refuses to pay statutory redundancy you have 6 months from the date of termination to claim. An unfair dismissal claim run in parallel now has 6 months too, if your employment ended on or after 1 October 2026.

When the clock starts

For statutory redundancy, the clock starts on the "relevant date", which is normally your last day of employment (or the day notice expires). The 6-month rule is in ERA 1996 s.164. The tribunal has a discretion to extend by a further 6 months if it would be just and equitable; this is not generous in practice.

The unfair dismissal clock: 6 months from 1 October 2026

Unfair dismissal under ERA 1996 s.98 has its own time limit in ERA 1996 s.111(2): six months beginning with the effective date of termination, which in practice means 6 months less one day. The Employment Rights Act 2025 doubled it from three months, in force from 1 October 2026 (SI 2026/954). The longer limit does not apply where the effective date of termination fell before 1 October 2026; those claims keep the old 3-months-less-one-day window. If you want to argue the redundancy was a sham, or that the selection was unfair, you must claim unfair dismissal in time. Missing the window kills the unfair dismissal claim regardless of how strong the merits are.

ACAS Early Conciliation

You must notify ACAS of your intent to claim before issuing tribunal proceedings (ACAS EC). The clock is paused for the EC period, then restarts with a minimum of one month to issue. Filing the ET1 is done online at gov.uk employment tribunals.