Employment Tribunals & How We Charge

What work does the pricing information below relate to?

Below you will find pricing information for employers or employees involved in an Employment Tribunal claim. Unlike many firms who specialise in acting only for employers or only for employees, we have extensive experience of acting for both employers and employees. With that wider perspective, we have a better ability to anticipate and address the issues which will be raised by the person with whom you are in dispute in what is a potentially complex process with a number of key stages.

Why do we provide this information?

We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to provide pricing information to potential clients in relation to certain types of work. We encourage our clients to contact us for more detailed information based on their specific situation and needs and not to base any decision solely on price. We strongly believe in the notion that 'you get what you pay for' and strive to provide our clients with clear, practical and effective legal advice, a responsive and highly personal service and, crucially, value for money.

How do we charge?

The fees set out below cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of an Employment Tribunal 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)
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 the compensation being claimed
Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing the set of documents to be used in the case
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 any barrister instructed

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, the fees set out below may be lower. Alternatively you may wish to handle a claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can be arranged to suit your individual needs.

We charge for our work an hourly rate basis. The range of hourly rates in our Employment Law team is between £205 + VAT * and £340 + VAT *.

Range of costs

Our range of costs for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal assuming that we (rather than a barrister) represent you at a full Hearing in the Tribunal (for 1 day only) is as follows:

Simple case
£10,000 – £15,000 + VAT *

Medium complexity case
£15,000 - £30,000 + VAT *

High complexity case
£30,000 - £45,000 + 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
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 e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
The compensation in issue

Where the case is listed for more than one day for the full Hearing, the overall costs will in all likelihood exceed the top end of the “High Complexity case” range cited above.

Representation at a Tribunal Hearing
Depending on the approach that we agree to take to representation at the (final) Hearing, there may be an additional charge for a barrister to represent you (in our place). Unfair Dismissal cases are typically listed between 1 and 4 days, depending on the complexity of your case (and the claims pursued). If a barrister is instructed, they typically charge between £3,500 and £6,000 for the first day of the Hearing (including preparation time) (with Hearing days thereafter charged at a ‘refresher’ rate of 50% of the first day’s rate) – the fees depending on the experience of the barrister concerned. If a barrister is engaged, we will invoice you for their fees and we will make the payment to them directly; we will ask you for money on account of their fees in advance of the Hearing.

Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. There are now no Tribunal fees payable in relation to Employment Tribunal proceedings and disbursements are likely to be limited to travelling costs, costs related to the production of documentation for Tribunal Hearings or for experts, if required.

We will invoice you for these disbursements but will make any payment due in respect of them in the first instance to ensure a smoother process. Again we may ask you for money on account of disbursements in advance of incurring them.

* VAT is charged at 20%.

How long will my 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 to 8 weeks to resolve but if your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 26 to 52 weeks. It is important to emphasise that these are just estimates and that they can be heavily influenced by how busy the Employment Tribunal system is and when it is able to schedule your case for a Hearing, as well as the availability of witnesses. We will, of course, be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Who will be advising you?

Matters will be handled by an appropriate member of our Employment Law team under the supervision of partner and team head Sue Dowling. You can find out more about the other members of our team below.