Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal
Employment Tribunal – Costs
Simple case £5,000 – £7,500 + 20% VAT
Medium complexity case – £7,500 – £12,500 + 20% VAT
High complexity case – £12,500 – £20,000 + 20% 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 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 attending a Tribunal Hearing of £750 per day + 20 % VAT. Generally, we would allow 1 – 10 days depending on the complexity of your case.
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.
Counsel’s fees are estimated to be between £1,000 – £1,500 + 20% VAT per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).
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 paper 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
- 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 pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 2 – 8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 48 weeks, although this will depend on the Tribunals ability to list your claim within that timeframe. 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.
Disbursements
If we need to travel to represent you the costs of the travelling will be charged at £0.60 per mile.
Exclusions
Employment claims can be quite complex, and circumstances can change which can result in additional costs being incurred. In the event that this is the case we will inform you at the earliest opportunity.
The typical circumstances that could result in an increase in costs include the following;
- Preliminary issues hearings, using in claims relating to discrimination.
- Discriminatory allegations linked to the dismissal
- If there are multiple witnesses
- If the claim is in relation to an unfair dismissal linked to whistleblowing on your employer.
- If your particulars of claim need to be amended and / or further information needs to be submitted about your claim.
To view the fee earners that could help you with this click here