Our Fee for Employees at the Employment Tribunal

Our estimate for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal for a Simple case: £6500 to £14000 , for a Medium complexity case: £10,000 to £18000 and for High complexity case: £19,000 to £58,000

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 £1200 to £3800 per day. Generally, we would allow 1-2 days depending on the complexity of your case. However, please note that apart from some preliminary hearings, we will usually instruct counsel (a barrister). We refer to their fees under the next heading.

The 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 (barristers) fees estimated between £1200 to £38000 for preparation including the first day in tribunal and then £600 to £8000 per day for each additional day at the Tribunal hearing (depending on the experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing. In addition (with your agreement) we may ask a barrister to review your case and advise in conference and or review witness statements. The cost of a conference would be in the range of £600 and £8000 depending on the amount of preparation required at that stage. Review of witness statements would be likely to be in the range of £600 to £6000.

Other Key Factors

The fees set out above cover all 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 pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;

• 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 on 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 on 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 the 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.

Employment Tribunal Pricing For Employees

Our fees for bringing claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal are based on three bands, which we will be happy to discuss with you.

We will advise you of the funding options available to you, for example as an individual you may have insurance that can cover your legal fees.

There are various items we will consider when deciding what pricing band your case falls into. We will make this assessment and inform you of the relevant fees at the earliest opportunity. We shall decide the level of the fee earner who will advise you on this matter.

Factors that may influence this include the need for:

• Filling out and submitting a claim form outlining your case to the relevant tribunal center
• Reviewing your former employer’s response to the claim
• Reviewing documentation received setting out the factual and legal basis of the claim
• Reviewing any Orders made by the Court
• Making any further applications to a Tribunal on your behalf
• Whether an Employment Tribunal hearing is required
• Whether you elect to appoint a more senior fee earner, such as a partner,