Our Fees
The Employment team of Fiona Hewitt and Peter Kelly. Fiona has over 18 years’ experience assisting clients both in bringing and defending unfair and wrongful dismissal claims and a variety of employment related claims.
Employment Tribunal: Range of Costs
Our Fees:
As no cases are the same our indicative pricing (based upon our hourly rates) for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are:
- Simple case - £ 3,000 - £10,000
- Medium complexity case - £10,000 - £25,000
- High complexity case - £25,000 - £50,000 +
All fees stated above exclude VAT which will be charged in addition at the the current rate of 20% and also exclude disbursements.
The above figures are only estimates and we can provide a further detailed view on potential costs once we have considered the case.
Our current hourly rates:
Partner/Senior Solicitor £250
Assistant Solicitor (up to 8 years qualified) £180
Trainee/Paralegal £140
Factors that could make a case more expensive and 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 persons acting without a legal representative
- Making or defending a costs application.
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the Claimant is disabled or a particular category of worker.
- The number of witnesses and documents is high.
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim.
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.
- Allegations that involve whistle-blowing.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees and/or Barristers Fees, and which are called 'disbursements'. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. We may ask for these fees on account in order to pay the third party.
Barrister’s Fees: You would usually be represented by a Barrister in respect of any Tribunal hearing. Their fees are estimated between £500 and £2,000 (plus VAT) per day including preparation, depending on the experience of the Barrister and the length of hearing. There may be other costs payable to third parties, such as expert witnesses and medical reports, depending upon the nature of the claim.
Key Stages
The examples of typical costs above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of an unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal case:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on your prospects of success in the case and the likely compensation and costs, although this is likely to be revisited throughout the case and subject to change.
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation with ACAS where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
- Preparing your claim or a response to a claim.
- Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the other party.
- Exploring settlement throughout the process and negotiating the terms of settlement.
- 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.
- Drafting witness statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
- Preparing bundles of documents for the final hearing.
- Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements.
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list.
- Preparation for final hearing, including instructions to and conferences with the barrister.
The stages set out above are an indication only. If some of the stages are not required, the fee will be reduced. Clients may wish to attempt to handle some or all parts of a matter themselves and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged based on your individual needs.
How long will the 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 capable of settlement. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation your case is likely to take 3 – 4 months. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing your case is likely to take up to two years depending on the availability of time for your hearing at the Employment Tribunal. This is just an estimate and we will of course give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.
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