Scottish Pubs Code: arbitration guidance

Annex 1: Understanding the notification period before submission of non-MRO disputes to the adjudicator

It is important that you understand the notification periods required before a non-MRO dispute can be referred for arbitration. These are set out in in the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021, and are provided here for ease of reference:  

The Adjudicator will arbitrate, or appoint another person to do so, if the dispute is:

1. between a tied-pub tenant and a pub-owning business
2. about whether the business has complied with a term of the Code, other than an excluded term; and
3. submitted to the Adjudicator for arbitration either under section 15 of the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021 or in accordance with an agreement between the parties to the dispute 

A dispute may be submitted to arbitration only if:

1. the tenant has notified the business of the alleged failure to comply with the code; and 
2. the dispute is submitted within a period of four months beginning with the day falling 21 days after the business was notified

A notification under the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021 must be given by the tenant to the pub-owning business within six months of the date upon which the alleged failure to comply with the Code occurred. This six-month period can begin on: 

1. the day on which the alleged failure to comply with the code occurred; or 
2. where the alleged failure was a continuing one, the day on which the failure ceased; or
3. the day on which the tenant became, or could reasonably be expected to have become, aware of the alleged failure, if later than the day mentioned in (1) or (2)

The dispute itself must then be submitted for arbitration within a period of four months beginning with the day falling 21 days after the pub-owning business was notified. 

The four- and six-month periods are always measured in calendar months. This means that if either period begins on the 29th, 30th or 31st of a month, and there is no corresponding date four or six months later, then the period ends on the last day of that later month (e.g. a four-month period would end on 28 February 2025 if the period began on 31 October 2024).

Publication history

First published:  27 November 2024
Updated: 26 March 2025
Original publication archive link: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Scottish Pubs Code: applying for arbitration (draft)