Employee Fees

Insurance

You may have insurance to cover the costs of an Employment Tribunal claim. This is often referred to as legal expenses insurance. You should check all your insurance policies first to ascertain whether you have this type of insurance.

If you believe that you have this type of insurance policy in place, we can explain what you need to do to utilise that insurance. We will do that at our first meeting with you.

Our fees for bringing employment claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (including constructive dismissal) based on an hourly rate of £240.00:

  • Simple case: £6,000 to £8,000 plus VAT @20%
  • Medium complexity case: £9,000 to £14,000 plus VAT @20%
  • High complexity case: £15,000 to £20,000 plus VAT @20%

See below for what adds to the complexity of a claim

Employer Fees

Our costs for defending employment claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (including constructive dismissal) based on an hourly rate of £240.00:

  • Simple case: £8,000 to £10,000 plus VAT @20%
  • Medium complexity case: £12,000 to £18,000 plus VAT @20%
  • High complexity case: £20,000 to £30,000 plus VAT @20%

See below for what adds to the complexity of a claim

Claimant and Defendant Work

Please note that each case, whether it be bringing or defending an employment claim, is different, in terms of both factual matters and legal complexity and this, in turn, means the amount of work required to be carried out by us will be different. The figures given are estimates only.

Factors that could make a case more complex for both claimants and defendants, include:

  • 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 people representing themselves
  • Making or defending a costs application
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled or if there is an issue about status, i.e. whether the person was an employee or worker of the employer
  • The number of witnesses and the volume and complexity of documents
  • If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. the claimant is dismissed after blowing the whistle on a wrongdoing by the employer or a fellow employee, or if any of the other automatic unfair dismissal reasons apply
  • If there are allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
  • If we are required to attend Conferences with a Barrister prior to the hearing

There will be an additional charge for attending an Employment Tribunal hearing of approximately £1,450 plus VAT @20% per day

Generally, we would allow 2-5 days for a case to be heard at an Employment Tribunal but this is very much dependent on the complexity of the case and the number of witnesses. Automatic unfair dismissal cases involving whistleblowing and/or discrimination can last on average for up to 10 days.

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.

Barrister’s fees for representing you at the Employment Tribunal hearing are usually estimated to be between £1000 – 2,000 plus VAT @20% per day depending on the Barrister’s experience.

If it is necessary to have a conference with the Barrister at any stage before the final hearing then there will be additional Barrister’s fees to pay. We will provide you with an estimate of these fees if that becomes necessary.

Key Stages

Our fees cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of an Employment Tribunal case:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the strength of your case 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 the claim form or preparing the response when a claim has been made against an employer,
  • Reviewing and advising on the claim or the response from the 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, reviewing documents 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 a list of people involved
  • Preparation for and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to the Barrister

The key stages set out above are listed as an indication only. If some of the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced accordingly. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only take our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged according to your individual needs.

How long will the process 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 5-10 weeks.

If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6-12 months, though please note the matter could take longer to resolve by way of an Employment Tribunal hearing because that will be dependent upon Tribunal availability dates. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

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