Employment Pricing

Employment Pricing

We regularly advise employees and employers on dealing with Employment Tribunal claims, Settlement Agreements, Early Conciliation and other options for resolving employment disputes.

Our Employment Department will offer clear advice and practical support to secure the best and most commercially expedient outcome, whether advising an employee or an employer.

We appreciate that value for money and overall costs are important issues when seeking professional advice. 

We will provide you with an estimate of your likely costs when we receive your initial instructions and will subsequently keep you updated on costs so that you are aware of your potential costs liability at all times.

Our fees for bringing or defending claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal are based on three bands which we will be happy to discuss with you. 

Fees

  • A simple case - £5,000 to £10,000 (excluding VAT).
  • A medium complex case - £10,000 to £20,000 (excluding VAT).
  • A high complex case – upwards of £20,000 (excluding VAT).

The fees are calculated upon the basis of an hourly rate appropriate for the person dealing with the matter. The hourly rate for employment work does not currently exceed £250.00 per hour plus vat. Initial enquiries and preliminary advice for up to one hour of time will be charged at a 50% discounted rate.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Barristers’ or Court fees.  Barristers’ fees  may vary, depending upon the case and experience of the advocate, and might reasonably be expected to fall within a range of £750 to £2,500 per day, excluding VAT, for preparing and attending a Tribunal Hearing.

We will advise you of the funding options available to you, for example, by considering whether you have insurance that may cover any of your legal fees.

There are various items we will consider when deciding within which pricing band your case falls into.  We will make this assessment and inform you of the relevant estimated fees at the earliest opportunity. 

Factors that may influence the costs of the case may include:

  • The complexity of the matter and detail required for the completion of a Claim Form.
  • The complexity and issues that may need to be considered upon responding to a claim.
  • The extent of documentation and witness evidence to be considered and the analysis of the factual and legal basis of a particular case.
  • Reviewing and/or responding to any Orders made by the Tribunal or Court.
  • The need to make or respond to applications to a Tribunal.
  • The number of witnesses and documents.
  • The value and complexity of any claim for compensation. 
  • Whether extensive settlement negotiations are undertaken.
  • Whether an Employment Tribunal Hearing is required. 

Timescales

The time taken from receiving your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter largely depends upon the complexity of your case and the stage at which it is resolved.

If settlement can be reached by agreement or during pre-claim conciliation, your case may be settled within 2 to 4 weeks.  If your claim is more complicated and proceeds towards a Final Hearing, it will take much longer.  Any information regarding timescales are a very general estimate but we will give you a much more accurate timescale once we have more information concerning your case and as the matter progresses.

Key Stages

Estimated costs cover various key milestones within a case which may vary according to individual circumstances.  They may be as follows:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on initial merits and settlement options.
  • Entering into pre-claim conciliation, where this is mandatory, to explore whether settlement can be reached.
  • Preparing or responding to your claim.
  • Reviewing and advising you upon the claim or the response from the other party.
  • Exploring and reviewing settlement throughout the process.
  • Preparing or responding to a Schedule of Loss.
  • Preparing for and dealing with a Preliminary Hearing or any necessary applications.
  • Exchanging documents with another party and agreeing a bundle of documents.
  • Taking Witness Statements, drafting them and agreeing their content with witnesses.
  • Preparing bundles of documents.
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s Witness Statements.
  • Consulting with you throughout and, where necessary, engaging a Barrister.
  • Agreeing a List of Issues, a Chronology and/or Cast List.
  • Preparing and attending at a Final Hearing, including Instructions to Counsel.

Some of the key stages mentioned above may not need to be undertaken and, in all cases, the amount of time spent on each stage will vary from case to case, depending upon the approach you wish us to take, the complexity of the matter and the volume of evidence.  These factors will significantly affect the level of costs that may be incurred.