Disability Discrimination Tribunal Claim UK Guide

At a glance

• Legal test for disability: a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term (12 months or more) adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities — Equality Act 2010, section 6.
• Automatic disabilities: cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis count from the point of diagnosis, without needing to satisfy the substantial/long-term test.
• Six ways discrimination can happen: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments, harassment, and victimisation.
• No minimum service required: unlike ordinary unfair dismissal, discrimination protection applies from day one of employment, and in some respects before you're even hired.
• Before you can claim: you must notify Acas and go through early conciliation — a legal requirement under section 18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996. From 1 December 2025 the maximum conciliation window increased from 6 to 12 weeks.
• Who has to prove what: you need to show facts from which a tribunal could infer discrimination; the burden then shifts to your employer to prove it didn't happen — Equality Act 2010, section 136.
• Current time limit (as at July 2026): 3 months less one day from the discriminatory act, paused while Acas conciliation is ongoing. A tribunal can allow a late claim only where it is "just and equitable" to do so.
• A change is coming: the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends most tribunal time limits, including discrimination claims, to 6 months, expected from 1 October 2026 — likely only for acts occurring on or after that date. It is not yet in force, so always check the current position for the date of your specific complaint.
• No fee to claim, and compensation is uncapped for discrimination claims, covering lost earnings, injury to feelings, and in some cases personal injury.

What counts as a disability under the Equality Act 2010?

The Equality Act 2010 protects people with a "disability", which section 6 defines as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

• Substantial means more than minor or trivial — for example, a task that takes noticeably longer than it would for someone without the impairment.
• Long-term generally means the effect has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months (or for the rest of the person's life, if shorter).
• The effect is usually assessed without the benefit of medication or treatment, so a well-controlled condition can still meet the test.
• Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are treated as disabilities automatically from the point of diagnosis, without needing to show the substantial or long-term effect separately.

The disadvantage you suffer as a result of discrimination doesn't have to be financial — it can include being passed over, humiliated, or made to feel forced out of a role. Full guidance is on GOV.UK's definition of disability page.

The six ways disability discrimination can happen

The same set of facts can sometimes support more than one type of claim, and the legal test for each is different — this is why it's worth identifying which category (or categories) your situation falls into before you start gathering evidence.

| Type | Equality Act 2010 | What it means | |---|---|---| | Direct discrimination | Section 13 | Being treated less favourably because of your disability than someone without it would be treated. | | Indirect discrimination | Section 19 | A general policy, rule or practice that applies to everyone but puts disabled people at a particular disadvantage, and puts you at that disadvantage, without justification. | | Discrimination arising from disability | Section 15 | Being treated unfavourably because of something connected to your disability (for example, disability-related sickness absence), rather than the disability itself — unless the employer can show the treatment was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, or didn't know and couldn't reasonably have known of the disability. | | Failure to make reasonable adjustments | Sections 20–21 and Schedule 8 | Not making a reasonable change to remove a disadvantage caused by a policy, a physical feature, or the lack of an aid. | | Harassment | Section 26 | Unwanted conduct related to disability that violates your dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. | | Victimisation | Section 27 | Being treated badly because you've done a "protected act" — for example, raising a discrimination complaint, giving evidence, or supporting someone else's complaint. |

Section 39 makes clear these protections apply throughout employment — recruitment, terms of employment, promotion, dismissal, and references given after you leave.

Who has to prove what: the burden of proof

A question that comes up constantly is whether you have to "prove" your employer discriminated against you before a tribunal will listen. The answer is more workable than it might sound. Section 136 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out a two-stage process:

1. You go first. You need to point to facts which, in the absence of any other explanation, could lead a tribunal to conclude that discrimination occurred. This is sometimes called establishing a "prima facie" case — you don't need to prove discrimination outright, just enough to raise a credible inference of it.
2. The burden then shifts. Once you've cleared that first hurdle, it's for your employer to satisfy the tribunal, on the balance of probabilities, that discrimination played no part in what happened.

This is why the evidence-gathering step matters so much in practice (see the practical steps below). Emails, messages, meeting notes, and a dated account of what happened while it's fresh in your mind are often what determines whether a claim clears the first stage at all.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments

The duty in sections 20–21 (read with Schedule 8 for the employment context) is one of the most commonly litigated parts of disability discrimination law, and it's proactive — your employer doesn't get to wait for you to ask.

The duty applies where:

• a provision, criterion or practice (a policy, rule or way of doing things),
• a physical feature of the workplace, or
• the absence of an auxiliary aid (equipment or support)

puts you at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who aren't disabled. What's "reasonable" depends on factors including the cost of the adjustment, the size and resources of the employer, and how much practical difference it would make. Typical examples include changes to working hours or duties, specialist equipment, physical changes to a workspace, or additional support during a return to work. A refusal to engage with adjustments at all, without proper consideration, is itself capable of founding a claim.

Worked example: a reasonable adjustment request

Priya, a fictional example, has a back condition that makes a standard office chair painful to sit in for a full day. She asks her manager for a specialist ergonomic chair, which occupational health has recommended. Her employer ignores the request for four months, offering no explanation and taking no steps to consider it, before Priya raises a formal grievance.

Here, the relevant disadvantage flows from the absence of an auxiliary aid — the chair. Cost is unlikely to be a serious barrier for most employers, and occupational health has already confirmed the practical benefit. The prolonged failure even to engage with the request, rather than a reasoned refusal, is the kind of conduct that tends to found a claim under sections 20–21, separately from any injury to feelings the delay has caused.

No minimum length of service required

This surprises a lot of people. Ordinary unfair dismissal claims currently require two years' continuous service before you can claim — a qualifying period the Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to change, so check GOV.UK for the current position. Discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 work differently: there is no minimum length of service. The protection in section 39 applies from your very first day, and extends to job applicants who are turned down because of a disability, before any employment relationship even begins.

Step 1: Acas early conciliation — a mandatory first step

Before you can submit a claim to an employment tribunal, the law requires you to notify Acas and go through early conciliation. This isn't a courtesy step — under section 18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, a tribunal generally has no power to accept your claim without the Acas early conciliation certificate number.

During conciliation, an Acas officer will try to help you and your employer reach a settlement without a hearing. From 1 December 2025, the maximum conciliation period increased from 6 to 12 weeks for any notification made to Acas on or after that date, giving both sides more time to reach a settlement before a claim needs to be issued. The mechanism that protects your tribunal deadline while this happens is section 140B of the Equality Act 2010: the clock stops for the period you're in conciliation, and if your original deadline would have expired during that window, it's extended to one month after you receive your certificate. You'll need the certificate reference to complete your claim form. Full detail on how the process works is on GOV.UK's employment tribunal pages.

Step 2: the tribunal time limit — and the change expected on 1 October 2026

As at July 2026, the deadline to bring a disability discrimination claim is 3 months less one day from the date of the act you're complaining about. Where there's a continuing course of discriminatory conduct, the clock generally runs from the last act in that course. Notifying Acas for early conciliation pauses the deadline while conciliation is ongoing, as explained above.

Unlike ordinary unfair dismissal claims, discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 can be allowed out of time where a tribunal decides it is "just and equitable" to do so (section 123). This is a genuine discretion, not a formality — tribunals routinely reject late claims, so don't treat it as a safety net.

A statutory change is expected. Section 152 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends the standard tribunal time limit from 3 months to 6 months for most claims, including Equality Act 2010 discrimination claims. Related regulations already made for other areas of employment law point to a commencement date of 1 October 2026, with the change applying only to acts occurring on or after that date — acts that happened wholly beforehand are expected to remain on the 3-month limit. This specific commencement date for discrimination claims had not been finally confirmed by statutory instrument at the time this guide was last checked, so treat 1 October 2026 as the expected date, not a certainty, and always verify the current position before relying on the longer limit.

Worked example: applying the transitional rule

Tom, a fictional example, is turned down for a promotion on 15 September 2026, which he believes was because of his diagnosed dyslexia. If the 6-month extension comes into force as expected on 1 October 2026 and applies only to acts from that date onward, Tom's complaint — based on an act before the cutover — would be expected to remain subject to the 3-month-less-one-day limit, meaning his deadline would fall in December 2026 (subject to any Acas pause). Contrast this with a colleague who experiences a similar act on 5 October 2026: on the same expected transitional approach, they would benefit from the longer 6-month window. The exact date of the act you're complaining about is therefore critical — don't assume the longer limit applies to you without checking.

Step 3: submitting your ET1 claim form

A tribunal claim is started using the ET1 form, which you can complete online or download and post via GOV.UK's ET1 claim form page. You'll need your Acas early conciliation certificate number to submit it. There is no fee to bring an employment tribunal claim — tribunal fees were found unlawful by the Supreme Court in 2017 and, as at July 2026, have not been reintroduced, despite a government consultation on a modest replacement fee. The form asks for your details, your employer's details, and a clear account of what happened and why you say it amounted to discrimination — this is where the evidence you've gathered (emails, notes, witness details, medical evidence) becomes important. Online submissions are generally processed faster than postal ones.

What you could be awarded if your claim succeeds

Unlike the statutory cap that applies to ordinary unfair dismissal compensation, compensation for discrimination claims is not capped. A successful claim can result in:

• A declaration that you were discriminated against.
• Compensation for financial loss — lost earnings, lost benefits, and in some cases future loss.
• An award for injury to feelings, reflecting the emotional impact of the discrimination on you.
• Compensation for personal injury, such as psychiatric harm, where this is properly evidenced and pleaded.

Injury to feelings awards are guided by three bands set out in Presidential Guidance to employment tribunals, reviewed and uplifted every April in line with inflation. As at July 2026, following the most recent update, the broad bands are: a lower band of roughly £1,300–£12,600 for less serious cases, such as an isolated or one-off act; a middle band of roughly £12,600–£37,700 for serious cases involving repeated or sustained treatment; and an upper band of roughly £37,700–£62,900 for the most serious cases, with exceptional cases exceeding that figure. These figures are reviewed annually and will move again — treat them as a general guide to how tribunals categorise cases, not as a prediction or a quote for your own claim. Always check the current Presidential Guidance, or ask an adviser, for the figures that apply on the date your claim is assessed.

Worked example: how a case might be categorised

Aisha, a fictional example, experienced a single dismissive comment from a manager about her hearing impairment, which she raised and which was addressed promptly through a apology and a policy reminder. This kind of isolated, swiftly resolved incident would typically sit toward the lower band. By contrast, a colleague who experienced repeated harassment over many months, leading to a diagnosed anxiety disorder and time off work, would typically sit in the middle or upper band, depending on severity and duration. The comparison illustrates the kind of factors — frequency, duration, and impact — that drive where a case lands within the bands, rather than giving either scenario a specific number.

The tribunal can also make recommendations aimed at reducing the discriminatory effect on you going forward.

Practical steps to take now

1. Identify the type of discrimination. Work through the table above to work out which category (or categories) fit your situation — the same facts can sometimes support more than one claim.
2. Gather your evidence while it's fresh. Emails, messages, meeting notes, sickness records, occupational health reports, and the names of witnesses. Keep a dated diary of incidents. Medical evidence about your condition and its effects is usually central — and remember it's this evidence that typically gets you over the first stage of the burden of proof.
3. Raise it internally first, in most cases, through a formal written grievance — this gives your employer the chance to put things right and shows the tribunal you acted reasonably. If your situation instead means staying is untenable, see our guide on constructive dismissal claims.
4. Notify Acas for early conciliation before your deadline — this is mandatory, and it pauses the clock for up to 12 weeks while it's ongoing.
5. Submit your ET1 with the Acas certificate number, well before whichever time limit applies to the date of your complaint. There is no fee to do this.
6. If your situation involves long-term sickness absence rather than a single incident, our guide on dismissal due to illness and capability procedures may also be relevant.
7. Take advice early if you're unsure or close to a deadline. Tribunal time limits are strict, the transitional rules around the 2026 extension add a layer of complexity, and the legal tests can be genuinely difficult to apply to your own situation — getting a second opinion early is far better than finding out too late that a window has closed.

This guide provides general information about disability discrimination and employment tribunal claims in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change — in particular, watch for the Employment Rights Act 2025 time limit change expected on 1 October 2026, and check the current Presidential Guidance for the injury-to-feelings figures that apply on the date your claim is assessed. Always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.

Last reviewed: July 2026 · Next review due: October 2026, when the Employment Rights Act 2025 time-limit change is expected to take effect, or sooner if the law changes before then.