To talk through your exact requirements and to receive a full itemised quote please call our team on 01246 560 560.
1. Our Legal Fees
The pricing for bringing and defending a claim for unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal at an employment tribunal will vary depending on the nature and the complexity of your individual case.
To help us assess the merits of your case we offer two fixed fee initial appointment options:
- For £450 + VAT (£540) we will meet with you for up to one hour to discuss the situation and offer advice on the options available to you. We will review up to 20 pages of documentation and provide a brief summary of the advice and options provided during the appointment in a follow up letter.
- For £350 + VAT (£420) we will meet with you for up to 40 minutes to discuss the situation and offer advice on the options available to you, with a brief summary of the advice and options provided during the appointment in a follow up letter. We will not review any documentation with this appointment option.
If your matter is more complex and falls outside the parameters of the above appointment options, we will discuss this with you and confirm our best estimate of costs for an initial meeting with you.
Whilst we will be unable to provide a definitive price for helping you with your employment tribunal matter until we see the details of your case and assess these, we have set out below our pricing estimates:
Simple case: £7,350 - £10,500 + VAT (£8,820 – £12,600)
The fees above are based on hourly rates, and the rate will vary between £215-£305 plus VAT (£268 to £366) per hour, depending on the case handler undertaking the work on your behalf.
The factors that could make a case more complex include the following:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims/defences or to provide further information about an existing claim or defence
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person (someone who has no legal representation in court)
- Making or defending a cross application
- Complex preliminary issues which need to be determined before a full hearing can be listed, such as employment status or disability status
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if it involves a claim that dismissal was linked to whistleblowing
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to a dismissal
- Obtaining an expert report e.g. a medical report in a disability discrimination claim
There will be an additional charge for attending an employment tribunal hearing of £1,680 – £2,435 + VAT per day (£2,016 – £2,922). Generally, we would allow 1 – 2 days if our attendance was required throughout the whole of a simple hearing. The length of time required to attend a more complex hearing will depend on the facts of the case and the number of days the employment tribunal list the case for.
2. Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees, fees for expert reports and fees paid to a barrister to represent you at a hearing. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smooth process.
Barrister's fees for attending an employment tribunal hearing (including preparation) are estimated between £2,000 – £3,500 + VAT per day (£2,400 – £4,200) for the first day of the hearing and £1,000 – £2,000 per day + VAT (£1,200 – £2,400) for each day thereafter. The fees charged depend on the experience of the barrister and the complexity of the case. Costs for all cases will be given on an individual basis once the appropriate barrister has been identified.
You may also incur disbursements for travel and accommodation. This will vary depending on which employment tribunal is listed to hear the case and how many days it is listed for. Travel costs will be charged per representative.
3. Key Stages
The fee set out above covers all of the work in relation to the following key stages of an unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation (this will be revisited during the course of the matter and is subject to change)
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation with ACAS where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached
- Preparing the claim or response
- Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the other party
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement through the process
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss, and preparing a counter schedule if necessary
- 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 a 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 a final hearing, including instructions to counsel
The fees incurred will depend on the individual facts of your case and the level of experience of the case handler undertaking the work on your behalf. The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages 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 an individual basis to suit your needs.
4. How Long Will The 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 6 – 8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take 39 – 52 weeks. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information.
5. Our Team
Our Employment Law team work across all of our offices, however, they are primarily based in Chesterfield and Sheffield. They can offer flexible appointments to suit your needs, including early evening appointments.
The team is comprised of:
Katie Ash: Head of Employment Law, Director, Solicitor
Sara Patel: Paralegal