Factors that could make a case more complex include:

• 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)
• Where preliminary hearings are required to decide further substantive points of law
• Multiparty claims
• 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
• Transfer of undertakings issues

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of between £1,000 – £2,500 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 1 – 20 days for a hearing depending on the complexity of your case. Simple unfair dismissal claims may be 1 – 3 days on average.

Cases that proceed in the courts (rather than the tribunals) are not covered by this pricing information and will be estimated separately.

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 between £1,000 to £3,000 (excluding VAT) per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing where such cases are not conducted by one of our solicitors. Counsels’ fees for preparation time and any meetings will normally be extra and range from £1,000 – £2,000 per day engaged (excluding VAT).

There may also be travel disbursements and overnight stays in hotels depending on the location of the hearing.

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
• Advising on merits
• 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 4 – 16 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, this will depend largely on the complexity of the case and Tribunal availability. As an initial estimate, your case to final hearing is likely to take 6 – 18 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.

Our employment team is made up of qualified solicitors (with between 1 – 44 years’ experience) and paralegals (with up to 2 years’ experience). The tribunal team is supervised by Monica Atwal who has over 20 years’ experience working in employment matters. View our Tribunal Team.

Further information on lawyers specifically assigned to your matter will be provided upon instruction and depend on matters including the complexity of the matter, relevant experience, turnaround requirements and workloads within the team. We will allocate lawyers in an appropriate and cost-effective manner. Depending on the level of the lawyer assigned (including paralegals) the hourly rate will vary between £100 – £400 per hour plus VAT.