No Win No Fee Employment Solicitors, Exeter

£2.5M+

Recovered for clients

500+

Exeter employees helped

93%

Settle before tribunal

Within time limit?

3 months minus 1 day from the incident

Have evidence?

Emails, letters, witnesses, or records

Qualifying service?

2 yrs for dismissal (none for discrimination)

Clear wrongdoing?

Employer acted unfairly or unlawfully

Exeter Employment Tribunal sits on the second floor of Keble House, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter EX1 1NT. Keble House is a modern office building in central Exeter, between Southernhay West and Southernhay East. The tribunal shares the building with other government services.

The venue is a hearing centre only. All case administration is handled by Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre at 2 Redcliff Street, Bristol BS1 6GR (telephone: 0117 929 8261, email: bristolet@justice.gov.uk). For any queries about your case, including hearing dates, case management orders, or document submission, contact the Bristol office.

Exeter St Davids railway station is approximately 10 minutes’ walk away. Public car parks at Cathedral & Quay and Mary Arches Street are both within 5 to 10 minutes’ walk. City centre parking fills quickly, so arrive early if driving. Regular bus services stop on Exeter High Street, a short walk from the tribunal.

Yes, we regularly represent NHS employees in disciplinary proceedings and subsequent employment tribunal claims. Royal Devon NHS Trust employs over 15,000 staff, and we’ve represented nurses, doctors, administrative staff, and support workers facing various allegations.

NHS disciplinary processes should follow AfC terms and conditions, but implementation varies. We see cases where investigations take months, where staff are suspended unnecessarily, where patient complaints lead to disproportionate sanctions, and where discrimination affects who faces discipline for similar conduct. If you’re facing allegations, the trust should follow proper procedure including informing you of charges, providing evidence in advance, allowing representation at hearings, and considering your response fairly.

If the disciplinary process leads to dismissal, you have three months minus one day to submit an employment tribunal claim. Don’t wait for the appeal outcome to expire before getting legal advice. We can advise during the disciplinary process, potentially preventing dismissal or building your tribunal case early if dismissal seems inevitable.

For discrimination claims, such as race discrimination in how discipline is applied, or disability discrimination in failure to make adjustments during investigation, you don’t need qualifying service. These claims can proceed regardless of how long you’ve worked for the trust. Contact us as soon as you become aware of potential discrimination, as evidence gathering is easier early in the process.

No, you don’t need to live in Exeter. We represent employees from across Devon and beyond at Exeter Employment Tribunal. What matters is where your employment tribunal claim will be heard, which is usually determined by where you worked or where your employer is based.

If you work for an Exeter-based employer like Royal Devon NHS Trust, University of Exeter, Met Office, or Pennon Group, your case will typically be listed at Exeter Employment Tribunal regardless of where you live. We represent clients living in Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset and further afield whose cases are heard in Exeter due to their employer’s location.

Most of our work is conducted remotely anyway. Initial assessment happens by phone or email, documents are exchanged electronically, and we communicate throughout your case via email and phone. You only need to attend the tribunal in person if your case proceeds to a final hearing, which happens in fewer than 7% of cases due to our high settlement rate.

If you lose, you pay us nothing for our work. That’s the entire point of no win no fee. Our success fee is only payable if you win compensation. If the tribunal dismisses your claim, you have no liability for our costs.

The more significant question is whether you might have to pay the other side’s costs. In employment tribunals, costs orders are rare compared to other courts. Tribunals can only award costs against you if your conduct was unreasonable, such as pursuing a claim with no reasonable prospects of success, or behaving unreasonably during proceedings like ignoring orders or causing unnecessary hearings.

Before taking your case on no win no fee, we assess its prospects honestly. We don’t take hopeless cases because it’s not in our interest to pursue claims that will fail. If your case has reasonable prospects and you conduct it reasonably, costs orders are unlikely even if you ultimately lose on the merits. The tribunal might conclude your employer’s evidence was stronger, or interpret the law differently to how we argued, without finding your claim was unreasonable to bring.

We explain cost risks fully before you commit to proceeding. If circumstances change during the case, such as new evidence emerging that significantly weakens your claim, we’ll discuss whether continuing is wise. You always have the option to withdraw if the risk-benefit balance shifts.

The 35% success fee (including VAT) is the maximum permitted under the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013 for employment cases. This cap exists to protect claimants from excessive fees. All reputable no win no fee employment solicitors charge at or close to this cap, because the risk we take justifies the fee.

Consider the alternative. If you paid hourly rates from the outset, you might spend £10,000 to £20,000 reaching settlement or tribunal, with no guarantee of success. You’d need this money upfront, borrowed, or from savings. If you lost, you’d be out the entire amount. With no win no fee, you only pay if you win, and only from your compensation.

The success fee covers all our work from initial assessment through to settlement or tribunal hearing. It includes correspondence with your employer, preparing your ET1 claim form, reviewing the employer’s ET3 response, case management hearing preparation, disclosure of documents, preparing witness statements, settlement negotiations, and if necessary, preparing for and attending the final hearing. The work involved in an employment case typically spans six to twelve months.

We also take the risk that your case might fail, or that your employer might go insolvent before paying. In those scenarios, we’ve done months of work for nothing. The success fee compensates us for taking these risks. We only earn money when you do.

Example: If you settle for £25,000, our fee is £8,750, and you receive £16,250. Without our representation, you might settle for £10,000 representing yourself, or get nothing if your claim fails due to procedural errors or weak presentation. The £16,250 you receive with professional representation likely exceeds what you’d achieve alone, making the fee worthwhile.

Yes, we advise on redundancy procedures at University of Exeter and can represent you if the process is unfair or discriminatory. The University announced The Exeter Release Scheme (TERS) in 2024, offering voluntary severance. Whether you’re considering voluntary severance, at risk of compulsory redundancy, or challenging a redundancy decision, we can help.

For voluntary severance, we can review the terms offered and advise whether they’re better than your entitlement under compulsory redundancy. Universities sometimes present voluntary severance as generous when statutory or enhanced contractual redundancy pay would be similar or better. Don’t accept voluntary severance without understanding your full entitlements if you were made compulsorily redundant.

For compulsory redundancy, the University must follow fair procedure. This includes meaningful consultation (explaining the business reason for redundancies, considering alternatives, discussing selection criteria), fair and objective selection (applying criteria like research output, teaching scores, grant income consistently across the pool), genuine consideration of redeployment (offering you suitable alternative roles before confirming dismissal), and providing your statutory or enhanced redundancy payment.

If you’re selected for redundancy and believe it’s discriminatory (targeting older academics, women after maternity leave, those with disabilities requiring adjustments), you can bring discrimination claims regardless of service length. These claims must be submitted within three months minus one day of the discriminatory act, which is typically the selection decision or dismissal date.

Fixed-term contract staff have particular issues. If your contract isn’t renewed and you have two years’ service, this may be redundancy requiring proper process and payment. Don’t accept the university’s assertion that your role simply “ended” without challenging whether the work continues under different arrangements.

Most cases settle within six to nine months without reaching a final hearing. The 93% settlement rate means only 7% of cases proceed to a contested tribunal hearing. For those that do reach hearing, the timeline from submitting your ET1 claim to final hearing is typically 9 to 15 months, though complex cases can take longer.

The process has several stages. After you submit your ET1 claim form, your employer has 28 days to submit their ET3 response. Both documents are exchanged so each party knows the other’s case. The tribunal then lists a preliminary hearing for case management, usually within two to four months of the ET1. At this hearing (usually conducted by video), the Employment Judge gives directions for progressing the case, including deadlines for disclosure of documents, exchange of witness statements, and preparation of the hearing bundle.

After the preliminary hearing, parties comply with the directions over several months. Settlement discussions often intensify as the final hearing approaches and the strength of each side’s case becomes clearer. If settlement isn’t reached, the final hearing is typically listed several months after the preliminary hearing.

Exeter Employment Tribunal, like all employment tribunals, faces significant backlogs. Listing times vary depending on the tribunal’s caseload and the length of hearing your case requires. Simple unfair dismissal claims might need one or two days, while complex discrimination cases with multiple witnesses could need a week or more. The tribunal lists longer cases less frequently due to room and judge availability.

For preliminary hearings and case management discussions, video attendance is standard. These hearings typically involve only legal argument without witness evidence, so physical attendance isn’t necessary. The Employment Judge conducts the hearing by video link, with parties joining from their own locations. This saves time and travel costs for preliminary matters.

For final hearings where witness evidence is given and the tribunal decides your case on the merits, in-person attendance at Exeter Employment Tribunal is usually required. The tribunal needs to assess witness credibility, which is difficult by video. You’ll need to attend to give your evidence and hear your employer’s witnesses cross-examined. Your witnesses will also attend in person unless the tribunal agrees otherwise.

Vulnerable witnesses may be permitted to give evidence by video link even in final hearings. If you or your witnesses have disabilities, anxiety disorders, or other conditions making physical attendance difficult, apply to the tribunal for video attendance. The tribunal considers each application on its facts, balancing the need for credibility assessment against the impact on the witness.

If you live far from Exeter and attending in person is genuinely difficult, the tribunal may accommodate video attendance for some parts of the hearing, particularly if your employer agrees. However, default expectation for final hearings is in-person attendance. Plan for this when considering whether to pursue your claim to a contested hearing versus accepting a settlement offer.

Yes, you can bring employment tribunal claims while still employed. This is particularly relevant for discrimination claims, whistleblowing detriment claims, unpaid wages claims, and constructive dismissal claims where you haven’t yet resigned.

Discrimination and whistleblowing claims don’t require you to leave employment. If you’re experiencing ongoing harassment, being denied promotion due to a protected characteristic, or facing detriment because you raised concerns about wrongdoing, you can submit a tribunal claim while continuing to work there. The three-month time limit runs from each discriminatory act or detriment, not from when you eventually leave employment.

The risk is victimisation. Under section 27 of the Equality Act 2010, your employer cannot treat you less favourably because you’ve brought or given evidence in discrimination proceedings. Similarly, whistleblowing law protects you from detriment for making protected disclosures. If your employer dismisses you, passes you over for promotion, or treats you badly because you brought a tribunal claim, this is a separate unlawful act giving rise to additional claims.

Practically, bringing claims while employed is difficult. Your working relationship will likely deteriorate. Colleagues may view you differently. Your employer might scrutinise your work more carefully, looking for legitimate performance issues to justify later dismissal. Despite legal protections against victimisation, proving that subsequent treatment was because of your tribunal claim rather than legitimate management action can be challenging.

Consider whether it’s worth trying internal procedures first, such as raising a grievance or speaking to HR, before jumping to a tribunal claim while employed. If you’ve already tried internal procedures without success, or if internal procedures would be futile (such as where senior management is responsible for the discrimination), proceeding to tribunal while employed may be your only option for addressing the issue without leaving.

Currently, unfair dismissal compensation is capped at the lower of 52 weeks’ gross pay or £118,223 (the statutory maximum for 2025/26 tax year). This cap will be abolished from 1 January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025, allowing tribunals to award unlimited compensation based on actual financial loss.

Unfair dismissal compensation has two components. The basic award is calculated like statutory redundancy pay: one week’s pay per year of service (capped at £719 per week), with a multiplier of 0.5 for years under 22, 1.0 for years between 22 and 40, and 1.5 for years over 41. Maximum basic award with 20 years’ service at maximum weekly pay is £21,570.

The compensatory award covers your financial losses resulting from dismissal. This includes lost wages from dismissal until you find new work (or until the tribunal hearing if still unemployed), loss of statutory rights (typically £500), pension losses, and loss of benefits like health insurance or company car. The tribunal reduces the compensatory award if you failed to mitigate your loss by unreasonably refusing suitable alternative employment or not searching for work diligently.

The current cap significantly affects high earners. If you earned £150,000 per year (£2,885 per week) and it takes six months to find equivalent employment, your actual loss is £75,000. However, your compensatory award is capped at £118,223 minus your basic award. If you earned at or above the cap and have significant service, you might recover close to the maximum. If you’re a lower earner with shorter service, the cap is unlikely to apply as your actual losses won’t reach it.

From 1 January 2027, when the cap is abolished, compensation will be based purely on actual financial loss. This benefits high earners significantly. If you earn £200,000 and it takes a year to find new work, you could potentially be awarded £200,000 plus pension losses and other benefits. The tribunal must still find the compensation “just and equitable”, and you must still prove your losses and demonstrate mitigation efforts, but there’s no artificial statutory ceiling.