Fees – Transparency
Litigation is always seen as a last resort, therefore, we will negotiate a settlement as far as is possible in your case and can do this on an agreed fixed fee basis, however, should that not be possible then, we will invariably charge for our fees on an hourly basis.
The majority of cases in the Employment Tribunal settle before the hearing. This will mean the total cost to you is likely to be lower than the estimates below:
- Simple case: £10,000-£20,000 (excluding VAT)
- Medium complexity case: £20,000-£40,000 (excluding VAT)
- High complexity case: £50,000-£100,000 (excluding VAT)
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 has a protected characteristic (which includes but is not limited to being disabled, pregnant, or observing a particular religion) (if this is not agreed by the parties);
- The number of witnesses and documents;
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim;
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
Disbursements
Disbursements are additional costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as: Court fees, Barristers’ fees; Expert fees for expert reports etc. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
We may sometimes need to instruct barristers to work on your case, only where we deem it necessary, the fees for Barristers vary and their fees range between £300-£950 per hour depending on experience and complexity of the case. These will be discussed with you beforehand.
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;
- Dealing with inter-party correspondence.
- Preparing claim or response;
- Reviewing and advising on claims or responses from other parties;
- 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 on their content with witnesses;
- Preparing bundle/s of documents;
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
- Agreeing on a list of issues, a chronology, and/or cast list;
- Preparation and attendance at the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.
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. In large part, the time it will take to reach a conclusion will depend on when a hearing can be scheduled. When a hearing can be scheduled is dependent on how many days the Tribunal thinks it requires to resolve the matter. Simple cases usually require 1 to 2 days and get given a hearing date in 6 to 9 months from the date of the claim. Medium and high-level complexity cases usually take 3 to 8 days and can be given a hearing date in 9 to 14 months. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case will be resolved sooner than this. Where a claim is made but it is settled before the hearing commences the settlement can be achieved at any time after the hearing up to the date of the hearing.
