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Time limits for bringing complaints of discrimination

Employment related complaints

Time limits
If you think you have been discriminated against you should act quickly, as there are time limits for lodging a claim with a tribunal or issuing court proceedings.

The time limit for bringing a claim before the tribunal can be as short as three months from the date of the act you are complaining about. In order to be within the time limits you should make a note of the date of your complaint. The last day on which you can lodge proceedings with the tribunal will be three months after that date, minus one day. For example, if you consider that the act you are complaining about occurred on 2 June 2006 the last day on which you can lodge a claim form will be 1 September 2006. It is advisable to lodge your proceedings promptly and not wait until the last possible moment.

If your time limit expires the tribunal has discretion to extend the time for you to lodge your claim but this is used sparingly and it is unwise to assume that an extension will be granted.

All employers, however large or small, should have procedures to deal with workplace grievance and disciplinary matters. In most cases if you fail to use or complete the grievance procedure in a case, the Tribunal can reduce any award of compensation by up to 50%.

For more information relating to the statutory grievance procedure contact the Labour Relations Agency.

Non employment complaints

In non employment related complaints, you normally have six months from the date of the incident you wish to complain of to issue county court proceedings.