Employment tribunal - fees

Companies will sometimes dismiss employees without following the appropriate legal procedures. If you were dismissed unfairly or wrongfully by your employer, we may be able to help you file a claim and reclaim the money that is rightfully yours.

Employment law is complicated, and expert guidance is frequently helpful to employers in ensuring that right procedures are followed to avoid allegations of unfair or unlawful dismissal. If a claim is filed, our employment law team can take charge in such a way that expense and disruption to the business are kept to a minimum.

Our fees
Employment law work is often performed on an hourly basis. The following information is offered to help you understand how we determine our fees. The costs listed are an estimate of the potential cost of a case and should not be considered an absolute quote. You must still contact us for a full quote that takes into consideration the specifics of your case. An average employment tribunal case takes between 10 and 30 hours to complete, according to our estimates.

The hourly rates that apply are as follows:

Associate Solicitor: £173.00 plus VAT
Trainee Solicitor: £150.00 plus VAT
Paralegal: £120.00 plus VAT
Simple case: £1,500 – £3,000 (excluding VAT)
Medium complexity case: £3,000 – £8,000 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case: £8,000 – £30,000 (excluding VAT)

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• Whenever it is essential to make or defend motions to alter claims or give additional information about an existing claim
• Defending claims brought by litigants in person
• Filing or defending a costs application
• Complicated preliminary questions such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
• The number of witnesses and documents
• If there is an automatic unjust dismissal claim, for example, if you are fired after blowing the whistle on your company
• Discrimination allegations related to the dismissal.

Attending a Tribunal Hearing will incur an additional charge of £1,000 per day (excluding VAT). Normally, depending on the complexity of the situation, we would allow 1-3 days.

Disbursements
Disbursements are expenditures associated with your case that must be paid to third parties, such as court fees. To guarantee a simpler transaction, we manage the payment of disbursements on your behalf. Counsel’s fees for attending a Tribunal Hearing are anticipated to range between £750.00 and £1,000.00 per day (depending on the advocate’s experience), plus VAT (including preparation)

Key stages

• The fees listed above cover all work related to the following key stages of a claim:
• Receiving your initial instructions, evaluating the documents, and advising you on the merits and potential compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
• Engaging into mandatory pre-claim conciliation to determine whether a settlement can be reached
• Drafting claim or answer
• Examining and advising on claim or response from other party
• Exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process
• Preparing or evaluating a loss timetable
• Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
• Exchanging documents with the opposing side and reaching an agreement on a bundle of documents
• Taking witness statements, composing statements, and agreeing on their content with witnesses
• Compiling bundle of documents
• Reviewing and advising on the opposing party’s witness statements
• Agreeing on a list of problems, a chronology, and/or cast list

The phases outlined above are indicative; if part of the processes outlined above are not required, the fee will be lowered. You may prefer to manage the claim yourself and simply seek our guidance on certain stages. This can also be tailored to your specific requirements.

How long would it take to resolve my case?
The time it takes from receiving your initial instructions to the ultimate resolution of your case is primarily determined by the stage at which your case is settled. If you achieve a settlement during pre-claim conciliation, your case will most likely take 4-6 weeks.

If your case goes to a Final Hearing, it will most likely take 6-9 months. This is only an estimate, and we will be able to provide you with a more precise timeframe once we have more information and as the situation advances.