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Employment Tribunal claims are typically brought by those who believe they are the victims of an unfair dismissal or discrimination. Unfortunately legal aid is not available for such work.
We act for those bringing claims (employees) and those defending them (employers).
We will always advise a client that they may have other funding options available, such as cover under an insurance policy and that we will check with them at your first appointment .
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are as follows:-
Simple case:-
- £2,500 – £4,000 excluding VAT.
Medium complexity case:-
- £4,000 – £10,000 excluding VAT .
High complexity case:
- £10,000 – £30,000 excluding VAT.
We will advise you on 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.
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties).
- The number of witnesses and documents.
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim eg. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer .
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.
There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,500 per day excluding VAT. Generally we would allow 1 to 3 days depending on the complexity of your case.
Disbursements:
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees . We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel’s fees are estimated between £750 – £1,500 per day, (depending on the experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).
Key stages:
The fees set above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
- Preparing claim or response.
- Reviewing and revising 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 will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some or the stages. This can be arranged on your individual needs.
How long will the matter take?
From taking your instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reach during pre-claim conciliation your case is likely to take 3-7 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing your case is likely to take 16-26 weeks. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timetable once we have more information and as the matter progresses.
No win no fee
On a case by case basis we will consider whether to enter into such an arrangement; although generally speaking we will only agree to this in cases which we judge to be overwhelmingly likely to succeed.
Recovery of costs
Whether you are bringing or defending a case, in the event that we are successful there is no automatic right to recover your fees from your losing opponent.