Unfair dismissal and employment tribunal work: our legal costs and staffing

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    Whenever we are asked to undertake legal work in relation to employment tribunal work, we offer a full, detailed, costs quotation, including our own time charges and the method of calculating these, as well as likely expenses needing to be incurred in the course of the proposed work if this proceeds as originally envisaged.

    All charges detailed in that quotation will be subject to VAT payable in addition at rates current from time to time as per http://www.gov.uk/vat-rates.

    We do not offer one-size-fits-all costs quotations. The basis of our charging and likely total costs through to the conclusion will depend on the nature of each individual matter. Our charges may be on a time (at hourly rates current from time to time by reference to the level of staff members working) & materials basis, or on a fixed charge basis, or in appropriate  cases on a contingency basis, depending on the nature of each individual matter.

    Our charges are calculated by reference to then current rates, with expenses in addition.

    Tribunal fees current from time to time are as per www.gov.uk/court-fees-what-they-are.

    Any legal staff member leading the work on the matter day-to-day will have appropriate skills and experience sufficient to competently do that work, as will the senior staff member or partner responsible for supervising the work. The partner leading our employment offering is solicitor Stephen Burbidge as per www.legal500.com/firms/1659-humphreys-co/3034-bristol-england/lawyers/595823-stephen-burbidge/

    In our quotation letter, or by email or letter sent in parallel to or shortly after that, we will explain the projected key stages of the matter, with applicable information as to possible timescales.

    Unfair dismissal claims must be made within 3 months less one day of the dismissal as per http://www.acas.org.uk/making-a-claim-to-an-employment-tribunal#:~:text=Time%20limits,ended%20to%20make%20the%20claim.

    The stages of an unfair dismissal claim are as per www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/problems-at-work/employment-tribunals1/employment-tribunals2/making-an-employment-tribunal-claim/. 

    Our average costs of a dismissal claim

    The cost of an unfair dismissal claim conducted by this firm depends on several factors, most importantly being the stage at which it settles. The majority of our cases settle early and often well in advance of an employment tribunal hearing or even before a tribunal claim has to be submitted. In these cases, the employer will usually pay some or all of the legal fees as part of the terms of settlement.

    If you are paying on a time & materials basis:

    Simple cases

    Start from £2,500 with average case costs of £3,500-£8,500.

    Medium complexity cases

    Start from £3,500 with average costs of £7,500-£17,500.

    High complexity cases

    Start from £7,500 with average costs of £17,500-£35,000.

    Hourly rates

    Our hourly rates range from £150 to £310 depending on the complexity of your case, the experience of the lawyer and your location.

    Included within our costs

    Each case is unique and requires varying levels of support depending on your individual circumstances. We will advise you during our initial advice and throughout your case on what level of support is required. These are the stages that may be included, but these will vary from case to case:

    • Initial instructions, reviewing the papers, advising on the merits and likely compensation
    • Entering into ACAS early conciliation to explore if a settlement can be reached
    • Preparing a claim, reviewing and advising on response from other party
    • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
    • Preparing a schedule of loss
    • Making requests and responding to requests for additional information and documents
    • Preparing for and attending a preliminary hearing
    • Preparing documents for disclosure and reviewing the opponent’s documents
    • Exchanging documents with the other party, agreeing documents and preparing documents
    • Taking witness statements, drafting statements, agreeing their content with witnesses and reviewing/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
    • Advising throughout on strategy, strength of case and general management of the case
    • Dealing with correspondence from the opponent or their representative throughout the proceedings
    • Preparing documents and instructions for Counsel and conferences with Counsel.

    Doing your own work on your unfair dismissal claim

    If you wish to handle the claim yourself and only ask our advice in relation to some areas, we can advise you on how to take this cost-saving measure.

    The complexity of an unfair dismissal case

    A case can become more complex for a number of reasons including:

    • Issues of loss such as loss of long-term incentives, pension or career
    • Where unusual orders are required, such as anonymity orders
    • Cases where a separate remedy hearing is required i.e. to work out the level of financial award to be made
    • Dismissal cases that are linked to allegations of discrimination
    • Automatic unfair dismissal claims e.g. whistleblowing cases
    • Making or defending a cost application
    • Complex preliminary issues such as whether a claim has been brought in time, whether the individual is an employee, and whether the case is sufficiently strong or should be struck out
    • Making or defending applications to amend claims or provide further information about existing claims
    • A long history being associated with the claim
    • Numerous witnesses being called by either side
    • Extensive documentation being relevant to the claim.
    •  

    Length of the case

    This will largely depend at which stage a case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during ACAS early conciliation it is likely to take 2-6 weeks.

    If a claim proceeds to a final hearing it could take 26-52 weeks, or sometimes longer depending on the particular Employment Tribunal and their caseload. We are able to give a more accurate timescale on individual cases when we have more information.

    Other costs involved

    We make any necessary payments to third parties such as experts on your behalf. These payments are expenses. We keep you updated on these throughout the claim.

    Barristers’ (Counsel’s) fees range between £7500 to £1,500 per day for attending a tribunal hearing, in addition to a preparation fee for final hearing – also called a Brief Fee – which varies between £1,000 to £10,000.

    These fees are in addition to those set out above but will only usually be incurred if the case proceeds to an actual hearing.

    Prices are with VAT at the rate current from time to time as per http://www.gov.uk/vat-rates in addition.