Pricing – Employment

We offer a fixed fee initial meeting for one hour for the sum of £300 plus VAT which includes review of documents (up to 20 pages or thirty minutes of time spent for complex documents) provided before the meeting and the first hour of the meeting.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for wrongful or unfair dismissal:

• Simple case: £5,000-£12,000 (plus VAT at the rate of 20%)
• Medium complexity case: £12,000-£25,000 (plus VAT at the rate of 20%)
• High complexity case: £25,000-£35,000 (plus VAT at the rate of 20%)

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
• Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
• Making or defending a costs application
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
• If a preliminary hearing is required.
• Making an application for a provisional decision given during the course of a legal action (a preliminary application).
• The number of witnesses and documents
• If there are complex allegations about the Claimant’s conduct.
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
• If there is more than one potential Respondent e.g. in the case of a dismissal resulting from a transfer of the business or a part of it.

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,500 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 1-7 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Counsel’s fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

In addition to our costs set out above, Counsel’s fees are estimated between £750 to £3,500 per day (plus VAT at the rate of 20%) (depending on experience of counsel) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation). If a hearing lasts for more than one day, the fee for preparation and the first day is usually higher than the fee for subsequent days.

Tribunal Fees

There are currently no tribunal fees for pursuing an Employment Tribunal claim.

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 merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change). You may have other options available to you for funding a Tribunal claim, e.g. cover under an insurance policy. We will discuss these options at our first meeting to check whether any apply to you.
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
• Preparing claim or response
• Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement 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
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
• Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
• Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee may be reduced. They do not cover the costs of enforcing any judgement if this is not received. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This may be possible depending on your individual needs.

Timescale

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 1-4 months. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9-30 months. Please note this is only an estimate as much depends on the listing availability at the Employment Tribunal, generally, the more days the hearing is listed for the longer it is likely to take to get a hearing date. We will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Wrongful Dismissal Claims worth more than £25,000 are likely to be issued in the County Court. The fees for this are likely to be different. We are happy to provide a bespoke costs estimate on request.

In exceptional circumstances, we may consider entering into a Damages-Based Agreement with you. A Damages-Based Agreement is a type of Conditional Fee Arrangement. This is only applicable to those bringing the claim and not those defending a claim.

If we enter into this type of arrangement with you, our fees are determined as a percentage of the amount that you achieve if you win. A “win” would include any settlement reached or following any Employment Tribunal award. This percentage is usually 35% inclusive of VAT, although it is assessed on the circumstances of each matter.

The main advantages of entering into a damages based agreement are that together, we (solicitor and client) share the risk as well as the costs of a commercial claim. If the case is unsuccessful, you will only have to pay a small amount, if any, of solicitors’ fees. There are exceptions to this which are set out below.

You will always be required to pay any disbursements and expenses incurred (whether you are successful or not) and these will usually be required on account prior to the costs being incurred. The agreement is limited to pursuit of your claims. It does not cover:

1. any claims or counterclaims brought against you;
2. any appeal that either you or your employer may make including any appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

If we agree to act for you under a Damages Based Agreement, you would still be liable for all disbursements in respect of your claim including, but not limited to, Counsel’s fees. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Counsel’s fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are estimated between £750 to £3,500 per day (plus VAT at the rate of 20%) (depending on experience of counsel) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation). If a hearing lasts for more than one day, the fee for preparation and the first day is usually higher than the fee for subsequent days.

If you breach the agreement, you would be required to pay our fees calculated on the basis of the relevant hourly rate.

Breaching the agreement can include not acting in accordance with our advice, being untruthful in your representation of your claim to us or failing to provide in advance any payment required in respect of any disbursements which may be incurred. This is not exhaustive and we would provide further information prior to entering into this type of agreement. If you terminate the agreement prior to conclusion of the matter or become incapable of continuing with the matter, you would be required to pay our fees calculated on the basis of the relevant hourly rate.

If you believe you have a strong case and want us to provide you with legal assistance under a damages based agreement, please contact us for more information.

Tribunal Fees

There are currently no tribunal fees for pursuing an Employment Tribunal claim.