Home > Employment Law
Our Employment Law Solicitors Promise
Need legal advice now from an employment law solicitor in London or Brighton?
Call, email or provide us with a few details of your employment matter, and we’ll help you arrange an initial consultation. You’ll get:
- Unlimited time to discuss your matter with an experienced employment law solicitor
- An outline of your legal position in your employment matter
- A clear fee-quote and time frame for your case
Constructive Dismissal
Discrimination
Employment Contract
Employment Tribunal
Redundancy
Settlement Agreement
Unfair Dismissal
Constructive Dismissal
Discrimination
Employment Contract
Employment Tribunal
Redundancy
Settlement Agreement
Unfair Dismissal
Commonly asked questions on employment law.
Employment law is a broad and complex area of law. Therefore, our employment law solicitors in London and Brighton have answered some of the most commonly asked questions on the topic.
1. What is employment law?
2. What are my employee rights?
Your rights, vary depending on whether you’re classed as an employee or a worker. The difference between an employee and a worker is that an employee is an individual employed under a contract of employment. Whereas, a worker would usually have another form of contract such as a ‘contract for services’ or a ‘zero-hours contract’, which provides fewer employment rights than an employment contract.
Worker rights
- Written terms outlining your job rights and responsibilities
- National minimum wage
- Paid holiday
- Payslips
- Protection against unlawful discrimination
- Protection for ‘whistleblowing’
- Not being treated unfairly if you work part-time
Employee rights
All employees are workers, but an employee has additional employment rights and responsibilities, which include:
- Statutory sick pay
- Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay leave and pay (workers only get pay, not leave).
- Minimum notice periods if their employment will be ending, for example, if an employer is dismissing them (workers don’t get this)
- Protection against unfair dismissal (workers don’t get this)
- The right to request flexible working (workers don’t get this)
- Time off for emergencies (workers don’t get this)
- Statutory redundancy pay (workers don’t get this)
What if I’m self-employed?
If you’re self-employed you have limited employment rights which include:
- Protection for your health and safety on a client’s premises
- Protection against discrimination
3. What are my responsibilities as an employer?
There is a long list of things an employer must provide for their employees. Regardless of the size of the company, an employer must:
- Make the workplace safe
- Prevent health risks
- Ensure all equipment is safe to use
- Make sure that safe working practices are set up and followed
- Ensure all materials are handled, stored and used safely
- Provide adequate first aid facilities
- Inform you about any potential hazards associated with your job and provide you with information, instructions, training and supervision as needed
- Set up emergency plans
- Make sure that ventilation, temperature, lighting, toilet, washing and rest facilities all meet health, safety and welfare requirements
- Check that the right work equipment is provided and is properly used and regularly maintained
- Prevent or control exposure to substances that may damage an employees health
- Take precautions against the risks caused by flammable or explosive hazards, electrical equipment, noise and radiation
- Avoid potentially dangerous work involving manual handling (and if it can’t be avoided, take precautions to reduce the risk of injury)
- Provide health supervision as needed
- Provide protective clothing or equipment free of charge (if risks can’t be removed or adequately controlled by any other means)
- Ensure that the right warning signs are provided and looked after
- Report certain accidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences to either the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland or the local authority, depending on the type of business
4. How much does an employment law solicitor charge?
When facing any employment matter, whether an employment dispute or drafting of a contract, our employment law solicitors will first need to arrange an untimed initial consultation. During your consultation, you’ll receive:
- Unlimited time to go through the details of your matter and ask any questions you may have.
- Clear overview of where you stand from a legal perspective and what your available options are.
- Upfront fee and time estimate for your case.
If your case is a matter regarding the employment tribunal (unfair/wrongful dismissal), please see our section on Employment tribunal: fees and work.
To contact one of our employment law solicitors, please contact us on 020 3007 5500.
5. How to deal with an employment dispute?
When facing an employment dispute, it’s always best to seek help from a specialist employment law solicitor. Seeking help from a solicitor will ensure that you don’t make avoidable but costly mistakes in your case.
In employment cases, our solicitors always guarantee:
- You understand your legal standpoint and available options.
- Your case is handled by an experienced professional.
- You get the best possible resolution for your matter.
- Representation in the employment tribunal.
To contact one of our employment law solicitors, please contact us on 020 3007 5500.
Employment tribunal: fees and work.
The cost of unfair/wrongful dismissal can vary between firms. At Britton & Time, our employment tribunal solicitors are committed to giving you clear estimates of costs, telling you how long your case will last, and outline the work we’re doing during your case.
1. Average costs
A simple unfair/wrongful dismissal case that settles before any Employment Tribunal hearing occurs will cost in the region of £1,000 to £2,000 plus VAT. This is based on the approximate 3 to 8 hours of work it will take to settle your claim with your employer. Costs can increase with complexity and how long the case goes on for. If your case proceeds to Employment Tribunal, you can expect to pay over £10,000 plus VAT. We don’t offer fixed fees for unfair dismissal.
There may be additional fees payable, such as barrister fees and administration fees to create bundles and other paperwork. Barrister fees will vary based upon the experience level of the chosen barrister.
You typically won’t be responsible for paying for the other side’s costs if you lose at an Employment Tribunal.
2. Hourly rates
Our solicitors charge £250 to £300 per hour, plus VAT depending on the seniority of who is working on your employment matter. Our average costs represent the work involved across the period it usually takes to either settle your case out of court or proceed to a full hearing.
3. Work involved
- 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 a claim or response from the 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 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
4. Factors affecting costs
Cost Variables Include
- The claim includes elements of discrimination
- Whistleblowing is, or could have been the cause for dismissal
- Whether or not an application for costs is going to be made
- Complexities arising from Transfers of Undertakings (TUPE)
- Issues around whether or not the claimant has a disability and whether this is disputed by the defendant
- The number of witnesses and documents involved in a case
- The involvement of any experts to verify evidence or a person’s condition
If the case proceeds to a hearing, an additional daily fee of £1,200 to £2,400 plus VAT will be applied for the solicitor in attendance, depending on the seniority of the solicitor.
5. Disbursements and third party costs
6. How long will an unfair dismissal claim take?
This depends on at which stage your case is resolved. For matters that are settled out of court during pre-claim conciliation, your case can take a matter of 4-8 weeks.
If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, this will depend on the Employment Tribunal’s availability. Typically HMCTS aims to list a hearing date within 26 weeks from when the claim commenced, but it can take more than one year for a hearing date to be available in exceptional circumstances.
Need legal advice now from an employment solicitor in London or Brighton?
Tell us about your case and we’ll get back to you the same day.
Meet our employment law team in London and Brighton.
Paul Britton
Managing Director
Joseph Navas
Director & Solicitor
Patrick Murray
Employment Solicitor
Rory Lindsay
Trainee Employment Solicitor
Why Britton and Time Solicitors?
Employment law is our speciality, and our employment solicitors have worked on everything from speeding offences to violent crimes. For your employment case, our solicitors will always guarantee:
Award-Winning Service.
You are our priority, and the law is our speciality. Our award-winning employment law solicitors in London and Brighton ensure you know exactly where you stand from a legal perspective so you can make a well-informed decision.
Full Billing Transparency.
No fee surprises. Ever. Our employment law solicitors will inform you from the outset on how much your case will cost, and we will do everything in our power to keep costs down and within your original fee estimate.
Regular Communication.
With fortnightly updates on your case, you’ll never be left in the dark. Our employment law solicitors in London and Brighton ensure you know exactly how your case is progressing and are with you every step of the way.
Our reviews.
It’s not about how good we think our services are; it’s about what you think.
There are three things that make Britton & Time, and in particular Paul, stand apart from other law firms: knowledge, communication and a will to win.
%
Google Reviews
%
Yell
%
Review Solicitors
%
Solicitor.info
Our employment law insights.
Solicitor’s Mother Sues Law Firm After Son Took His Own Life
Mrs M Fabry v Statham Gill Davies Solicitors is a case involving her late son and her claims of discrimination due to his mental health.
An Employer’s Guide to Working Bank Holidays
Working bank holidays can be a complex issue for employers. This guide will cover everything you’ll need to consider.
Understanding Statutory And Contractual Rights
In this article What are statutory rights? Your statutory rights Your contractual rights Employer's duty of care Businesses failing to follow rights Notable cases What are...
A Complete Guide To Strikes
In this article What is a strike? Who forms strikes? Dismissal Striking as a union member Striking as a non-union member Frequently asked questions What is a strike? Who forms...
Workplace Discrimination: From Both Perspectives
Workplace discrimination can create toxic work environments and negatively impact a business and its employees.
Solicitor’s Mother Sues Law Firm After Son Took His Own Life
Mrs M Fabry v Statham Gill Davies Solicitors is a case involving her late son and her claims of discrimination due to his mental health.
An Employer’s Guide to Working Bank Holidays
Working bank holidays can be a complex issue for employers. This guide will cover everything you’ll need to consider.
