Employment

On average, our estimated costs for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are likely to be:

• Simple case: £11,000 (plus VAT at a rate of 20% (as at 1 May 2022) and disbursements)
• Medium complexity case: £25,000 (plus VAT at a rate of 20% (as at 1 May 2022) and disbursements)
• High complexity case: £55,000 (plus VAT at a rate of 20% (as at 1 May 2022) and disbursements)

Factors that could make a case more complex and/or more expensive include:

• A long employment history
• 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 entitled to bring a claim
• The number of witnesses and documents
• Instructing an expert witness
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
• Reputational risk and damage
• Separate hearings for liability and remedy
• The number of parties
• Unreasonable conduct by an opposing party
• Making or opposing any appeal

We will instruct a barrister to represent you at the main Tribunal Hearing.  We may also instruct a barrister to represent you at complex Preliminary Hearings.  Barrister’s fees are estimated to be between £750 to £3,000 per day plus VAT at a rate of 20% (as at 1 May 2022)depending on the barrister’s experience, for each day of preparing for and attending at a main Tribunal Hearing.

We will work with clients to determine whether a solicitor and a barrister both need to be present at the main Tribunal Hearing (or at a Preliminary Hearing), how long they may be needed to attend for and the seniority of the solicitor and barrister attending.

Assuming a solicitor needs to attend a main Tribunal Hearing or a Preliminary Hearing, there will be an additional charge of, on average (and depending on the seniority of the person attending), £2,000 per day plus VAT at a rate of 20% (as at 1 May 2022).

There will also be an additional charge for our time spent travelling, which will be dependent on the location of the Tribunal.

Generally, we would allow 1-10 days for the main Tribunal Hearing depending on the complexity of your case.

Our fees are based on hourly rates, which vary depending on who is involved on the matter. The range of our hourly rates (exclusive of VAT at a rate of 20% (as at 1 May 2022)) are as follows:

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as barrister’s fees (see above), travel and hotel expenses, courier and photocopying charges. Travel costs are usually by rail (standard class open returns).

The rates charged for in-house photocopying/scanning (excluding VAT) are as follows:

We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Excluding barrister’s fees which are addressed separately above, disbursements are on average, likely to be in the region of £150 for a simple case, £400 for a medium complexity case and £800 for a high complexity case, in each case plus VAT at a rate of 20%.

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 and the availability of the Tribunal.  If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 4-6 weeks.  If your claim proceeds to a main Tribunal Hearing, your case is likely to take 26-52 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 and as the matter progresses. (Note that the Tribunal system is currently dealing with a backlog of cases which is resulting in delays in cases being listed for hearing in some areas of the country).

Your matter will be handled by a member of the Employment team, all of whom are qualified solicitors. Our solicitors are occasionally supported by trainees and paralegals whose work is appropriately supervised by a qualified lawyer.

The experience and qualifications of those carrying out the work on any particular case will depend on matters such as complexity and value and also whether any specialist knowledge is required.  Links to our team members’ profiles are available here.