Employment Law: Fees and Work.

Below is a full breakdown of our legal fees for unfair or wrongful dismissal claims that are taken to the Employment Tribunal.

How are our fees calculated?

These fees are calculated as an average based off our experience of handling employment law matters, and the hourly rates associated. Please note that we do not normally offer fixed fees on employment tribunal matters, however where we do, any fixed fee quotes will typically exceed the estimates below.

Where the work involved falls outside of the guidance set out, additional fees may be incurred at the hourly rate of the solicitor working on your matter. These additional fees will always be agreed with you.

We do not provide legal aid, pro bono or ‘no win no fee’ employment services.

Work involved.

The stages below are indicative of the work involved in bringing an unfair dismissal claim to court.

• 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 early conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached
• Preparing to submit your claim or your response to a claim
• Reviewing and advising on a claim or response from the other party
• Exploring settlement and attempting to negotiate a 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

Depending on when your matter settles, not all stages may be applicable.

Average costs.

A simple unfair/wrongful dismissal case that settles before needing to submit a claim to the Employment Tribunal hearing will cost in the region of £2,500 to £5,000 plus VAT. This is based on the approximate 8 to 16 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 the Employment Tribunal, you can expect to pay over £15,000 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 on the experience level of the chosen barrister.

The general rule is that the Employment Tribunal is a cost-neutral environment, so neither party is rarely made responsible for the other side’s costs. However, there are exceptions to this general rule.

Factors affecting costs.

No two unfair dismissal cases are the same, and there are many factors that affect how much your case will cost.

Cost Variables include:

• Whether the claim includes elements of discrimination and/or victimisation. This includes issues around whether the claimant has a disability and whether this is disputed by the defendant
• Whether whistleblowing is, or could have been the cause for dismissal
• Whether or not an application for costs is going to be made
• If there are complexities arising from Transfers of Undertakings (TUPE)
• 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.

Disbursements and third-party costs.

There are currently no mandatory disbursements payable for Employment Tribunal cases.

However, there may be additional fees incurred for travel, expert witnesses, and instructing of a barrister. If any additional disbursements are required, we will always consult with you first unless there are practical reasons why this is not possible.

Hourly rates.

Our solicitors charge £305 to £550 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.

Job seniority	Hourly rate (excl. VAT)	Hourly rate (inc. VAT)
Managing Director	£550	£660
Director	£360	£432
Legal Director	£340	£408
Senior Associate	£330	£396
Associate	£315	£378
Solicitor	£305	£366
Trainee Solicitor/Senior Paralegal	£215	£258
Paralegal	£200	£240
Admin/Junior Paralegal	£180	£216

We have a flat rate fee on all initial consultations, regardless of the legal team that attends. This fee is £200 plus VAT.

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 period 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 preliminary case management hearing date within 26 weeks from when the claim commenced. The final hearing date is generally set at the preliminary case management hearing. The court is currently scheduling final hearings around 18 months are the preliminary case management hearing.