Employment Tribunal costs

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal to include representation at Trial is estimated as follows:

• Simple case: £5,000 – £8,000 plus £1,000 – £1,600 VAT (Totalling £6,000 – £8,000 inc. VAT at 20%)
• Medium complexity case: £8,000 – £15,000 plus £1,600 – £3,000 VAT (Totalling £9,600 – £18,000 inc. VAT at 20%)
• High complexity case: £15,000 – £30,000 plus £3,000 – £6,000 VAT (Totalling £18,000 – £36,000 inc. VAT at 20%)

Our hourly charging rate is £280 plus £56 VAT (Totalling £336 per hour, inc. VAT at 20%)

 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)
• 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
• If the claim is multi-claim
• There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,000 plus £200 VAT (Totalling £1,200 per day, inc. VAT at 20%)

You should explore any legal expenses policy that you have in place which could cover your legal costs and disbursements.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Tribunal fees or Barrister’s fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

The Government proposes to reintroduce Employment Tribunal fees this year. A date is yet to be confirmed. The fee to issue a Tribunal Claim or an Appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal is expected to be £55. There will be fee remission in some circumstances and we will advise you fully where such a fee may apply in your case.

Barrister’s fees are estimated to be between £750 – £1,250 plus £150 – £250 VAT (Totalling £900 – £ £1,500 per day, inc. VAT at 20%) (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 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
• Preparing an application to strike out all or part of a Claim of Response
• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
• preparing or considering a schedule of loss and the preparation of any counter-schedule
• 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 where directed
• 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 a Barrister
• 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.

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 2-4 weeks. If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9-12 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.

The Employment Tribunal team

The team are listed below. Stephen Foote oversees all Employment Tribunal work.