Northern Ireland civil procedure
How do knowledge and act dates control a Northern Ireland Fair Employment Tribunal complaint?
The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts.
- Period
- The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act
- Trigger
- Actual or constructive knowledge of the act and the date the act was done
- Rule
- Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)
Current official revised XML accessed October 9, 2026, with retained amendment comparison. The June 2021 and February 2021 court PDFs are historical consolidation aids.
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How do knowledge and act dates control a Northern Ireland Fair Employment Tribunal complaint?
The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts.
Responsible actor. The complainant bringing an Article 38 Fair Employment Tribunal complaint.
Actual or constructive knowledge of the act and the date the act was done.
Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts.
Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts. The result must identify statutory tribunal claim limit for the complainant bringing an Article 38 Fair Employment Tribunal complaint. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)How does this provision count time?
- Establish actual or constructive knowledge of the act and the date the act was done.
- Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension.
- The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. This is the applicable statutory calendar-month complaint period beginning with the identified event. The ordinary interval ends on the day before the corresponding date. Establish the actual early-conciliation branch separately.
- Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Section 39 carries a statutory final Sunday or public holiday when applicable. Saturday alone is not its carry rule. An electronic portal or future court-office calendar does not establish lawful completion without the actual procedure.
The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. This is the applicable statutory calendar-month complaint period beginning with the identified event. The ordinary interval ends on the day before the corresponding date. Establish the actual early-conciliation branch separately.
Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Section 39 carries a statutory final Sunday or public holiday when applicable. Saturday alone is not its carry rule. An electronic portal or future court-office calendar does not establish lawful completion without the actual procedure.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Monday, July 13, 2026. The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Monday, July 13, 2026. The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts. The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. This is the applicable statutory calendar-month complaint period beginning with the identified event. The ordinary interval ends on the day before the corresponding date. Establish the actual early-conciliation branch separately. The independent ordinary endpoint is Monday, October 12, 2026 for statutory-tribunal-claim-limit, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Monday, October 12, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Saturday, January 31, 2026. The source-specific completion is present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Section 39 carries a statutory final Sunday or public holiday when applicable. Saturday alone is not its carry rule. An electronic portal or future court-office calendar does not establish lawful completion without the actual procedure. | The The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act branch cannot use a thirty-day month substitute or an unestablished corresponding-day, paired event, longstop or statutory closure interpretation. Preserve actual or constructive knowledge of the act and the date the act was done and establish the actual branch. |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | The independently required actDate is missing. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts. Both event branches must be established before selecting statutory-tribunal-claim-limit. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts. | The independently required actDate is missing. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts. Both event branches must be established before selecting statutory-tribunal-claim-limit. |
Fictitious established facts. These examples do not establish eligibility, effective service, relief or a direction.
Try these dates in the calculatorWhich conditions and exceptions apply?
- Applicable event and branch
- Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts.
- Counting and boundary
- The earlier of three months beginning with knowledge and six months beginning with the act. This is the applicable statutory calendar-month complaint period beginning with the identified event. The ordinary interval ends on the day before the corresponding date. Establish the actual early-conciliation branch separately.
- Required completion
- Present the complaint before the earlier ordinary endpoint, with any applicable Article 46B extension. Section 39 carries a statutory final Sunday or public holiday when applicable. Saturday alone is not its carry rule. An electronic portal or future court-office calendar does not establish lawful completion without the actual procedure.
- Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts. The result must identify statutory tribunal claim limit for the complainant bringing an Article 38 Fair Employment Tribunal complaint. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the complainant bringing an Article 38 Fair Employment Tribunal complaint. Its controlling event is actual or constructive knowledge of the act and the date the act was done. Both events are essential. A continuing act or deliberate omission changes the statutory event. Article 46(5) discretion and Article 46B early conciliation require their actual facts.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
How do knowledge and act dates control a Northern Ireland Fair Employment Tribunal complaint?
Does the later of the two dates control?
No. Article 46 uses the earlier endpoint of three months from knowledge and six months from the act, subject to its specified adjustments.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)Must constructive knowledge be considered?
Yes. The provision includes when the complainant might reasonably have been expected to know of the act.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)Does ordinary employment conciliation wording alone suffice?
Use Article 46B's actual mechanism for this Fair Employment route. Do not substitute another Order's provision without checking it.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)Can the tribunal consider a late complaint?
Article 46(5) supplies the stated just-and-equitable discretion. It is not an automatic additional complaint period.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)What if knowledge is established but the act date is not?
Both anchors are required to compare the ordinary three-month and six-month endpoints. A single date cannot establish the earlier limit.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)Does the same limit govern an Article 40 county-court claim?
No. Article 46 distinguishes the tribunal complaint and county-court routes and their separate periods.
Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1)Official sources and review
Provisions used (4)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3162 (N.I. 21)), Article 46(1) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, section 39 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Express application of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, Article 2(1) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Early Conciliation Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020, regulation 3(1)(c) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |