Our fees for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:
- Simple case: £7,500 – £12,000 plus VAT
- Medium complexity case: £12,000 – £17,000 plus VAT
- High complexity case: £17,000 – £28,000 plus VAT
Factors that may 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 or to seek the other party’s compliance with case management directions
- Defending claims that are brought by individuals in person without professional representation
- Making or defending a costs application
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled for the purpose of the Equality Act (if this is not agreed by the parties) and/or whether preliminary hearings are required
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. a dismissal for allegedly blowing the whistle
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal or which form the basis of a separate claim or claims
There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,250 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 2-3 days depending on the complexity of your case although some cases can require longer hearings.
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 on average to be between £1,250 to £2,500 per day (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
- 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
- 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 to 8 weeks.
Following the publication of a written question in Hansard on Wednesday 9 February 2022, The publication sets out that, for the period up to March 2021, the average time from receipt of the ET1 to a first hearing (which could be a preliminary hearing) is 335 days for single claims (made by a single employee/worker), and 388 days for multiple claims (made by multiple employees/workers).
The data is only provided up to March 2021 because the Employment Tribunals moved to a new case management system and HMCTS is currently working to incorporate the new IT system to get up to date figures. The timescale will amongst other things depend on which Tribunal office is dealing with your case.
Who will do my work and at what rate?
The work will be carried out by Sarb Gosal or June Salmon. Usually work will be carried out on an hourly rates basis ranging from £285 to £290 per hour plus VAT.
At the outset we will assess the complexity of the case and give you our best indication of the likely fee range from those outlined above. We will continually review that assessment and provide you with a revised estimate in the event of there being any change.
