Pricing information – Employment Business

How much will my legal fees cost?

Our range of costs for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

Simple case: £7,500 – £12,000 (excluding VAT)
Medium complexity case: £12,500 – £20,000 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case: in excess of £20,000 (excluding VAT)

This is a range of costs based on recent transactions; the actual cost to you will depend on a number of factors which we will discuss with you if you decide to instruct us.

This charge is based on our average charging rate of £185 per hour

We may use conditional fee or damages-based agreements, in which case we will discuss with you if you decide to instruct us.

Depending on the outcome of the hearing there is a risk that the losing party will pay some, or all of the other party costs.

Our fee is set out on the assumption that there are no other claims (e.g. discrimination) that might increase the time involved, and therefore, the cost. There may also be an increase in cost if the claimant is acting in person.

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

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.

For a hearing before the employment tribunal, you may incur the fees of a barrister. Such fees start from £750 per day, and cases typically last 1 to 2 days. On average, in cases which reach a final hearing before a tribunal which are reasonably straightforward, barristers ‘ fees are around £2,000

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a 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 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 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 Counsel

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. Your case is likely to take 6-9 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.

Complaints information

You can always give us your feedback here

If you wish to complain about our service, please contact us immediately. We have a complaints handling procedure, which you can read here.