PRICING – Employment Law

Fees, other costs, including disbursements and types of work covered

COSTS FOR TAKING A CASE TO AN EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL:

It is important to note that there is alternative funding available for some cases: for example, if you are a union member, you may secure representation through the union, or you may have insurance over that provides legal representation for employment cases – please check whether these apply to you.

Some cases are more complex than others, and fees and time involved will vary depending on these. VAT is a tax that we need to pay to HMRC, usually the rate is 20% on most fees.

Costs listed below are estimates only and more details information will be provided for your case.

Initial meeting is charged at a lower rate for one hour – and is £275 plus VAT (at 20%) (total = £330). This is for a one-hour meeting to take initial information from you and provide you with initial advice.

If case proceeds:

ACAS Early Conciliation – ACAS provides a free service to make attempts to resolve the issue between parties before legal action is taken. The estimate starting and negotiating a settlement through ACAS is between £325 – £950 (plus VAT at 20%). The issue could be resolved very quickly with parties agreeing a settlement or there could be up to 6 weeks of negotiating before the case is settled or ACAS issues a certificate to start legal action.

If the case does not settle through Early Conciliation:

Preparing and drafting claim to start legal proceedings – range of fees between £650 – £1,300 (plus VAT at 20%). Straight forward cases of redundancy payment, or simple unfair dismissals are likely to be at the lower end of the range, and cases of discrimination or whistleblowing are likely to be at the higher end of this range.

The response form (either drafting if you are the employer or reviewing if you are the employee) – £650 – £1,300 (plus VAT at 20%), depending on the type of claim will determine whether it requires less or more time. Again, if the case is a redundancy payment or wages claim or simple unfair dismissal, the fees are likely to be at the lower end and cases of discrimination are likely to be at the upper end.

ORDERS MADE BY THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL

Once the case starts, the Employment Tribunal create a timetable and make orders for processing the case. These include:

Collating and disclosing documents – this can vary widely because some cases relate to a longer period of time (over 1 – 2 years) and therefore, have a larger number of documents and others may relate to one incident only. The range is likely to be between 2 – 10 hours of work (£650 – £3,250 plus VAT at 20%) depending on the quantity of documents, but more details will be provided as the case progresses.
Preparing s schedule of loss – 1 hour – 3 hours (£325 – £975 plus VAT at 20%), simple unfair dismissal cases will be at the lower end of this range and complex discrimination cases are likely to be at the higher end.

The following orders may not apply to all cases, where the Tribunal makes such orders the fees for responding to applications range from 2 – 6 hours (£650 to £1,750 plus VAT at 20%). The lower end will be if there is one order to respond to, and the higher end, will be if there is multiple order and in more complex cases, such as discrimination ones with an issue like time limits.

Making an Unless order, which if we do not comply with an order made by the Employment Tribunal you risk losing part (or all) of your claim/response.

Interlocutory applications, where a party may make an application to strike out part of the claim

Preliminary Hearing may be set for 2 – 4 hours (this is often in cases of discrimination)

For the preliminary hearing, a barrister will be booked and the fee for that is charged separately (see below for disbursements)

Preparation of bundle of documents for hearing is likely to range from about 2 – 4 hours (which is about £650 – £1,300 plus VAT at 20%). Bundles which are smaller will be quicker to collate and have indexed, such cases of simple unfair dismissals, and cases of discrimination are likely to take much longer due to the volume of documents and are likely at the upper end.

Preparation and exchange of witness statements range from 3 – 10 hours (£975 – £3,250 plus VAT at 20%). Where there is one witness and in a simple case of unfair dismissal, the fee is likely to be at the lower end, and cases of 2 – 4 witnesses and/or cases of discrimination or whistleblowing, the fees are likely to be at the higher end.

Taking instructions on witness statement from other party 2 – 4 hours (£650 – £1,300 plus VAT at 20%)

HEARING

Briefing counsel/barrister – 30 minutes – 1.5 hours (£162.50 – £487.50, plus VAT at 20%)

PLUS cost of barrister (see disbursements below)

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

Simple case: £4,000 – £5,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

Medium complexity case: £4,000 – £6,250 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

High complexity case: £6,000 – £12,500 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

We charge based on an hourly rate, currently at £325 plus VAT at 20%.

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
We do not attend hearings with barristers unless you ask us to do so; this is to keep your costs to a minimum.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees or barrister’s fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. At present the Employment Tribunal does not charge a fee to start or defend a case.

Counsel’s (barrister’s) fees estimated between £1,000 to £,2500 per day plus VAT, charged at 20%. The cost of a barrister will depend on the experience of the barrister. For attending a Tribunal Hearing (preparation and the first day of the hearing is charged as a brief fee, and is estimated between £2,500 to £3,500 plus VAT at 20%). The following days are charged as a ‘refresher fee’ and is likely to range between £1,000 – £2,500 plus VAT at 20% per day (after the first day of hearing.
A barrister will be chosen with your agreement and fees for the barrister need to be paid into our client account before the barrister is sent papers.

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. If a settlement is reached during ACAS Early Conciliation, your case is likely to take 4-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 8 – 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.

Harsha Moore started work at the Commission for Racial Equality in 1996. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1997, she moved to Camden Community Law Centre as their Employment Solicitor and then to Thompsons, the national union firm, as an Employment Solicitor specialising in discrimination work. She subsequently opened her own business in 2007 specialising in Employment and Discrimination Law.
Harsha continues to undertake mainly claimant-based employment and discrimination work, covering all aspects from internal disciplinaries, grievances and capability proceedings through to Employment Tribunal claims for discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, whistleblowing etc, and Employment Appeal Tribunals.