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Employment Fees

Scope of the services

The information below relates to the work we undertake representing in the context of claims for unfair dismissal and/or wrongful dismissal claims in the Employment Tribunal.

If you instruct us simply to defend a claim in the Employment Tribunal for unfair or wrongful dismissal, the likely range of costs (excluding VAT) is set out below.

It is important to note the below factors that could result in your case falling into the “high complexity” category and so incurring fees at the higher end of the range to what is stated here or, in the case of work which goes beyond unfair or wrongful dismissal claim, falling outside the ranges of work covered.

The factors that tend to make a case more complex and therefore more expensive include some of the following (which is not an exhaustive list):

  • there being a large number of witnesses and documents;
  • the nature and extent of the disclosure process (involving each party searching for, listing and disclosing to the other party/ies every document that is relevant to any issue in the claim) entailing a large volume of documents and/or documents in multiple formats or from multiple sources (e.g. paper and computer records, telephone logs and emails);
  • it being necessary to defend and/or respond to applications to amend claims;
  • any hearings needed to deal with any application made by the other side which could be to amend their claim/defence, for orders for particular documents to be disclosed, orders to provide more information about the claim etc.;
  • if it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide information about an existing claim;
  • defending claims that are brought by litigants in person (i.e. someone who does not have their own legal representation);
  • making or defending a costs application;
  • making or defending applications before the Employment Tribunal about how the litigation is being conducted such as an application for further and better particulars (where a claim form has provided insufficient detail of the allegations made) or for an unless order (an application for the other party’s claim or response to be struck out if it fails to comply with a specific order of the Tribunal);
  • complex preliminary issues, such as where the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties) or if a medical report is required;
  • the claim being an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if the claimant is dismissed after blowing the whistle such as raising Health and Safety issues/violations or other potentially unlawful activity by the employer;
  • the claim includes allegations of discrimination or being combined with other claims whether linked to the dismissal or not; and
  • the claim involving judicial mediation.

Pricing

Our pricing for bringing and/or defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are based on an hourly rate charge, which varies depending on the seniority of the Solicitor dealing with your case and the complexity of your case.

The seniority of the Solicitor is always dependant on the complexity of your case. We will discuss this with you when you instruct us.

Hourly Rates

Our lowest hourly rate is £250 (exclusive of VAT) and our highest hourly rate is normally around £400 (exclusive of VAT).

Our hourly rate (excluding VAT) ranges are as follows:

  • Simple/Medium complexity cases: between £250 and £350
  • High complexity cases: quoted at a specific hourly rate agreed with you but this is usually £400+, which we will discuss this with you when you instruct us.

Barrister’s Fee

The level of fee rates for Barristers are set by individual chambers for such Barrister and such rates depend upon the experience of the Barrister, the complexity of the case and how many days the Tribunal Hearing will last.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

We charge based on an hourly rate which varies depending on the member of staff dealing with your matter. Our hourly rates are stated in the Hourly Rate section above.

There will generally be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal hearing of which could range as follows (excluding Barrister’s Fees). Depending on the complexity of your case, we would allow on average 3 days of potential for a Tribunal hearing, by way of example only (excluding VAT):

Solicitor Preparation and attendance for a 3-day Tribunal Hearing
  • Simple/Medium Complexity cases – between £1,760 to £2,800 per day, totalling approximately between £5,280 to £8,400.
  • High complexity cases: could be in excess of £3,200 per day at a £400 hourly rate, totalling approximately between £9,600.

As mentioned, the above illustration of the costs is separate to any costs relating to a Barrister which is instructed on your behalf to advocate in any hearing (see section for Barrister Fees below for more details). We will discuss with you whether or not you wish one of our team to attend the Tribunal Hearing in addition to the Barrister we engage on your behalf.

We are not responsible for setting Barrister’s fee rate and provide the following indicative range of the fee rate, for preparation and advocacy, by way of example only (excluding VAT)

Barrister Preparation and attendance for a 3-day Tribunal Hearing:
  • Estimated to range on average is between £2,000 to £5,000 excluding VAT (depending on experience of the advocate)

Where a matter proceeds to a full trial, we will typically prepare the trial bundle of documents. The stationery costs are charged as a disbursement, which will depend on the volume of documentation involved in each case.

Key Stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the key stages of defending or bringing a straightforward unfair or wrongful dismissal 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 ACAS 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 for and 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 Barrister.

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the overall fee will be reduced to what could be charged. 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.

The range of fees set out above will not include:

  • exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process, including drafting (or amending if prepared by other side) and negotiation of a settlement agreement, where settlement negotiations are successful;
  • advising on a subject access request (where a claimant requests disclosure of information under data protection laws);
  • attendance at the Employment Tribunal for any hearing (including Preliminary Hearings);
  • advising on any claim other than unfair dismissal and/or wrongful dismissal;
  • advising in respect of a claim brought in conjunction with a claim for unfair dismissal and/or wrongful dismissal but which is a separate claim (such as for discrimination); or
  • defending any related claims in the High Court for example in respect of uncapped wrongful dismissal claims or making applications in the High Court for example for injunctive relief.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as fees relating to court, copying of trial bundle documents, travel to and from hearings when in person etc. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process and these will appear on our invoice to you.

VAT

Unless stated otherwise above, all prices are stated excluding VAT and VAT will be charged at the prevailing rate (currently 20% in the UK).

Timescales

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.

The mandatory pre-claim conciliation period may last for up to a maximum of 6 weeks. If settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, then the matter should be dealt with in that time frame.

If the claim proceeds to a Tribunal Hearing, then the length of the process will depend upon the complexity of the claim, the availability of the relevant Tribunal to hear the claim and how many days the Tribunal Hearing is set for, as determined by the Tribunal. Typically, a more straightforward case may take up to 6 months and a more complex case may take up to 12 to 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.

Complaints Procedure

Our Complaints Procedure can be located by client here.

Disclaimer

We recommend that you contact us on 0333 772 7736 or at enquiries@360lawservices.com before relying on this information or taking any course of action (or omitting to take any action) that has or may have legal implications. If you rely on this information without obtaining legal advice you do so at your own risk.

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