Costs Information – Employment Tribunal Cases
We offer advice and representation to employees in relation to the bringing of claims before the Employment Tribunal against an employer for unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal and we also offer advice and representation to employers in relation to defending claims before the Employment Tribunal brought by an employee for unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal.
Bringing a claim to the Employment Tribunal can be complicated; it can take several months to go through the full process. Every case is different which is why we encourage you to contact us so we can provide an estimate outlining a range of potential fees to make sure that you get the right amount of support to meet your individual circumstances.
Pricing
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:
Simple case: £20,000 – £45,000 (excluding VAT and disbursements).
Medium complexity case: £45,000 – £80,000 (excluding VAT and disbursements).
High complexity case: £80,000 – £150,000 (excluding VAT and disbursements).
The current rate for VAT is 20%.
We charge based on an hourly rate which varies depending on the member of staff dealing with your matter. Our lowest hourly rate is £350 plus VAT and our highest hourly rate is £450 plus VAT. The seniority of the members of staff dealing with your case will depend on its complexity. We will discuss this with you when you instruct us.
Factors that could make a case more complex and/or increase costs 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 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.
Typically, high complexity cases will involve other claims being brought within the unfair/wrongful dismissal claim such as claims of discrimination and whistleblowing.
There will be additional charges for attending a Tribunal Hearing, which will be based on our usual hourly rates and will vary depending on who attends and the length of the hearing. Generally, we would allow 2-10 days for a Tribunal Hearing depending on the complexity of your case (1-2 days for a simple case; 2-4 days for a medium case and 5 days or more for a complex case).
Hourly rates
Our hourly rates are set out below.
Imogen Finnegan: £350 – £415 (excluding VAT)
Marc Jones: £375 – £415 (excluding VAT)
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
In addition to our fees, you may need to budget for us instructing a barrister to represent you. It is difficult to estimate what the barrister’s fees would be since this depends on the complexity of the matter, experience of the advocate required, and whether the matter reaches trial. A junior barrister will cost somewhere between £200 to £250 per hour for advice on a case, and between £1,500 to £2,000 per day in Tribunal (including preparation). A senior barrister will cost somewhere between £500 to £600 per hour for advice and between £3,000 to £5,000 per day in Tribunal (including preparation). If a barrister represents you in a Tribunal Hearing then our lawyers would not normally also need to attend that Hearing.
Key stages
A typical case of unfair or wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal involves the following stages:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing papers and advising you on the strength of your claim and how much you might recover if you win.
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
- Preparing a claim or response.
- Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party.
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- Preparing or considering 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 bundles of documents.
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or a cast list.
- Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to a barrister.
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of 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 of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.
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 6 to 8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6 to 12 months. 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.
What qualifications do the team hold?
For information about the expertise of the lawyers who can work with you in providing advice and representation in bringing and defending claims of unfair and/or wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal, please click on the name of an individual below:
Funding Options
We do not offer our services under conditional fee or damages based agreements. In other words we do not work under “no win, no fee” arrangements.
You may have other funding options available, such as cover under an insurance policy. We will check this with you at your first appointment with us.
