Deadline to bring a discrimination claim, by country
The time limits run from two weeks to three years, so the same facts can be in time in one country and long out of time in another. Germany gives only two months to claim compensation in writing, and the United States 180 days to file a charge, while Austria allows six months for most claims in court and three years for sexual harassment. Spain, Australia and Sweden are different again: their ingested rules are dismissal deadlines of 20 working days, 21 days and two weeks, so the clock is short when discrimination ends in a dismissal.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
United States: federal law only. State law is not compared.
| Country | Deadline | Claim it covers | Clock runs from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 6 months (1 year or 3 years for harassment) | Court claim for compensation; harassment claims have longer limits | Rejection of the application or promotion (hiring and promotion claims) |
| Australia | 21 days | Dismissal in breach of the general protections (includes discrimination) | The dismissal taking effect |
| Canada | 1 year (later at the Commission's discretion) | Complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission | The last act or omission complained of |
| Germany | 2 months | Claim for damages or compensation against the employer, made in writing | Receipt of the rejection (applications) or knowledge of the disadvantage (other cases) |
| Spain | 20 working days | Challenge to a dismissal motivated by discrimination | The day after the dismissal took place |
| Sweden | 2 weeks to give notice (annulment); 4 months (damages) | Claim arising from a dismissal or summary dismissal | The dismissal; for damages, the harmful act |
| United States | 180 days (300 days where a state or local agency can act) | Charge of discrimination filed with the EEOC | The alleged unlawful employment practice |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Gleichbehandlungsgesetz § 15
- Claims about hiring and promotion go to court within six months, from the rejection. Claims for gender-based harassment get one year and sexual harassment three years.
- A dismissal, summary dismissal or ending of a probationary employment must be challenged in court within 14 days of receipt of the notice.
- Applying to the Equal Treatment Commission pauses the court deadlines. The other claims fall under the three-year limitation period of the ABGB.
Ansprüche nach § 12 Abs. 1 und 5 sind binnen sechs Monaten gerichtlich geltend zu machen.Die Frist zur Geltendmachung der Ansprüche nach § 12 Abs. 1 und 5 beginnt mit der Ablehnung der Bewerbung oder Beförderung.Ansprüche nach § 12 Abs. 11 wegen geschlechtsbezogener Belästigung sind binnen eines JahresAnsprüche nach § 12 Abs. 11 wegen sexueller Belästigung sind binnen drei Jahren gerichtlich geltend zu machen.ist binnen 14 Tagen ab ihrem Zugang bei Gericht anzufechtenbewirken die Hemmung der Fristen zur gerichtlichen Geltendmachung Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009 ss 351, 365, 366
- Section 351 bars adverse action against an employee or prospective employee because of race, sex, age, disability and other listed grounds. A dismissal in breach of that Part can be brought to the Fair Work Commission within 21 days.
- The Commission may allow a further period only in exceptional circumstances.
- The ingested Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and Racial Discrimination Act 1975 state no time limit for complaints, so complaints to the Human Rights Commission are not shown.
within 21 days after the alleged dismissal took effectif the FWC is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances alleges that the person was dismissed in contravention of this Part An employer must not take adverse action against a person who is an employee, or prospective employee, of the employer because of the person Canada
- Rule
- Canadian Human Rights Act s 41(1)(e)
- Covers complaints about federally regulated employers under section 7 (refusing to employ, or adverse differentiation in employment). The Commission need not deal with a complaint based on acts that ended more than one year before it was received, but may allow a longer period.
- Ontario human rights law is not ingested, so provincially regulated employers are not covered here.
the complaint is based on acts or omissions the last of which occurred more than one year, or such longer period of time as the Commission considers appropriate in the circumstances, before receipt of the complaint to refuse to employ or continue to employ any individual Germany
- Rule
- Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) § 15(4)
- Covers employees and applicants. A collective agreement may set a different period.
- The two months are for asserting the claim in writing against the employer; the section does not set the deadline for going to court.
muss innerhalb einer Frist von zwei Monaten schriftlich geltend gemacht werden, es sei denn, die Tarifvertragsparteien haben etwas anderes vereinbartmit dem Zugang der Ablehnungzu dem Zeitpunkt, in dem der oder die Beschäftigte von der Benachteiligung Kenntnis erlangt Spain
- Rule
- Estatuto de los Trabajadores arts. 55(5) and 59(3)
- A dismissal whose motive is a ground of discrimination prohibited by the Constitution or by law is void. The action against a dismissal lapses after twenty working days.
- The period is interrupted by a request for conciliation before the competent body.
- The ingested text states no separate deadline for a discrimination claim that does not involve a dismissal.
Será nulo el despido que tenga por móvil alguna de las causas de discriminación prohibidas en la Constitución Española o en la ley caducará a los veinte días siguientes de aquel en que se hubiera producido. Los días serán hábilesEl plazo de caducidad quedará interrumpido por la presentación de la solicitud de conciliación Sweden
- Rule
- Diskrimineringslag 6 kap. 4 § with Lag om anställningsskydd 40 and 41 §§
- The Discrimination Act applies the time limits of the Employment Protection Act when someone sues over a dismissal or summary dismissal. An employee who wants a dismissal annulled must notify the employer within two weeks; a claim for damages needs notice within four months.
- A party who misses these limits loses the right to sue.
- For other employer cases the Act points to sections of the Co-determination Act, which is not ingested, so those limits are not shown. Outside working life, the Act sets two years.
Om någon för talan med anledning av uppsägning eller avskedande ska följande bestämmelser i lagen (1982:80) om anställningsskydd tillämpas40 § om tidsfrist för talan om ogiltigförklaring41 § om tidsfrist för talan om skadestånd eller andra fordringsanspråk senast två veckor efter det att uppsägningen eller avskedandet skedde inom fyra månader från den tidpunkt då den skadegörande handlingen företogs har parten förlorat sin talan United States
- Rule
- Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)
- Federal law only. The charge is filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, not in court. The longer 300-day period applies where a State or local agency has authority to grant relief for the practice.
- The charge must also be served on the respondent within ten days.
A charge under this section shall be filed within one hundred and eighty days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurredsuch charge shall be filed by or on behalf of the person aggrieved within three hundred days after the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred Countries not in this table yet
France, the Netherlands, Norway and Japan are not shown: the ingested French, Dutch, Norwegian and Japanese texts state no deadline specific to a discrimination claim. The United Kingdom is not shown because the Equality Act 2010 is not ingested.
How this table was built
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The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Deadline to bring a discrimination claim, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/discrimination-claim-deadline (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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