Employment Tribunals – Our Prices

At your first appointment we will always ask you to check whether you have legal expenses insurance.  If you do, your insurers may cover your costs in bringing or defending a claim.  There may, however, be limits to the cover they will provide.  We will always discuss the best options available to you.  We will also let you know whether your case falls into the simple, medium or high complexity bracket.  We may have to revise our opinion either upwards or downwards depending on the response we receive from your opponent.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (breach of contract) is set out below.  An unfair constructive dismissal matter or a case involving discrimination will always either be a case of medium or high complexity. These costs do not include Counsel’s fees or the costs of attendances at hearings.

Simple case, i.e. straightforward unfair dismissal: £800 – £1,500 (excluding VAT).

Medium complexity case including unfair constructive dismissal and/or discrimination: £1,000 – £3,500 (excluding VAT).

High complexity case: £1,000 – £5,000 (excluding VAT).

These fee ranges are based on an hourly charging rate of £200 (excluding VAT).

VAT at the current rate of 20% will be added to our charges.

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• Making or defending applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim;
• Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person – these cases nearly always involve additional work;
• 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.

There will be an additional charge for our attending a Tribunal Hearing of up to but not exceeding £500 per day (excluding VAT). This is not always necessary.  Counsel may be willing to attend without us in straightforward claims.

Generally, we would allow 1-4 days for a hearing depending on the complexity of your case. Most Claims are listed for one day only unless extremely complex or there are more than three witnesses.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. At the moment there are no tribunal fees in the Employment Tribunal.  If this changes, we will let you know. We will usually instruct Counsel to represent you at the hearing and we will handle the payment of their fees on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are estimated at £850 – £1,500 (excluding VAT) per day (depending on experience) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

When representing an employee in complex cases we will also instruct Counsel to prepare the Claim – fees for this are estimated at £500 – £1,200 (excluding VAT).

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim and you can pay as the matter progresses rather that in one lump sum:

• 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 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, if necessary;
• Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;
• Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;
• Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
• Pre-hearing preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel

The stages set out above are an indication of work that will need to be done and may not always be required. 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 depending on your individual needs.

How long your matter will take

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution 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 4-8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 30-52 weeks.  The case can settle at any time and costs will depend on how far the case has progressed subject to the maximum levels of the bands set out above.

For more information please consult our Employment Tribunals – Our Prices Experts:

Amanda Hyam