Employment Law Fees
Below we have provided an indication of costs for bringing and defending Employment Tribunal Claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal.
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are set out below. These are based on an hourly rate of charging. Our hourly rates vary from £150 – £295 an hour, plus VAT, depending on the experience of your lawyer and their location.
- Simple case: £3,600 to £5,100 (plus VAT)
- Medium complexity case: £5,200 to £10,000 (plus VAT)
- High complexity case: £10,100 to £21,000 (plus VAT)
FACTORS THAT COULD MAKE A CASE MORE COMPLEX:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim;
- For employers – defending claims that are brought by litigants in person;
- Making or defending applications for disclosure of specific documents or other evidence
- Complying with non-standard case management orders;
- Making or defending a costs application;
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether a claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed upon by the parties);
- The number of witnesses and documents;
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer;
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal;
- The complexity of the remedy sought such as compensation including loss of bonus or pension;
- The length of the trial;
- The resources available to the employer;
- The number of respondents;
- The number of separate strands to the claim.
DISBURSEMENTS:
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court or Tribunal fees (if any) or medical records and report fees if required (e.g. for discrimination claims). We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
If we have agreed with you to instruct a barrister to represent you at the tribunal, their fee usually is made up of two parts.
1. A brief fee, which covers a meeting with us, their preparation for your case and their attendance at your hearing for the first day. The brief fee is likely to range between £1,000 and £6,000 plus VAT. This depends on the experience of your barrister, which we can discuss and agree with you. In addition to the brief fee is the refresher fee as set out below.
2. A refresher fee, which is the cost of the barrister attending the hearing to represent you on the second and each following day of the hearing. This is likely to be between £500 and £1,250 plus VAT per day, depending on the experience of the barrister.
ADDITIONAL CHARGES:
There will be an additional charge for your solicitor attending a Tribunal Hearing between £500 and £1,400 plus VAT per day, depending on the experience and location of your lawyer.
Generally we would allow 1 – 5 days depending on the complexity of your case and the number of witnesses involved, however, this may be more if your case is complex or involves preliminary issues.
It may be that we agree to instruct a barrister to represent you in the Tribunal and we can then discuss with you whether it is necessary for us to also attend, which may also depend on your costs budget.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR FUNDING YOUR CASE:
You may have a policy of insurance to cover payment of legal fees we are happy to work with your insurers and can discuss this option with you in more detail.
For employees, we may be able to act for you on a “no win, no fee” basis, under a Damages Based Agreement. This is going to depend entirely on your case.
If you do not wish to instruct us to represent you for your entire case, you may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged and tailored to your specific needs.
To discuss any alternative options for funding your case, please contact us and ask to speak to a member of our employment team.
Key Stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
– Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change as your case progresses);
– Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory, to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
– Preparing a claim form and particulars of claim or a response form and grounds of resistance;
– Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;
– Exploring settlement and negotiating throughout the process;
– Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;
– Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing;
– Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;
– Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;
– Preparing bundle of documents for the hearing;
– Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
– Complying with case management orders by the Tribunal;
– Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list;
– Instructing a barrister where necessary.
The stages set out above are a general indication of the steps that it may be necessary for us to take on your behalf. We will advise you as your case progresses as to what steps are necessary for your case.
HOW LONG WILL MY EMPLOYMENT MATTER TAKE?
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 4 – 6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing your case is likely to take 40 – 52 weeks. This is just an estimate and will depend on which tribunal office is dealing with your claim and the exact nature of the claim in your case. We will, of course, be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progress.
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