Range of Costs
We have set out below our estimated pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal.
- Simple case (no more than one day at tribunal and one witness statement): £6,500 -£8,500 (excluding VAT and disbursements)
- Medium complexity case (up to two days at tribunal): £8,500 – £9,750 (excluding VAT and disbursements)
- High complexity case (up to three days): £9,500 – £15,000 (excluding VAT and disbursements)
You should also check your household insurance policy to see if you have legal expenses as an add-on to your household insurance policy. Your insurers may contribute towards your fees. We are happy to discuss this in more detail with you to see if this is an option available to you.
Factors that could 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
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- Preparing costs warning letters
- Complex preliminary issues such as establishing or conceding disability, time limits and appointment of experts
- The number of witnesses and volume of documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim such as whistleblowing
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
- Counterclaims, particularly in a wrongful dismissal claim
There will be an additional charge charge of £1,250 per day (excluding VAT ) if you would like us to attend the tribunal hearing. Travel costs and other expenses will be charged separately.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees and counsel fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
We may recommend the use of a barrister to assist with your case, to prepare a claim or defence (also referred to an ET1 and ET3) or to give a legal opinion. We usually instruct a barrister to appear at any court hearing.
A barrister’s fees will depend on a number of factors including their expertise and the time required. As an estimate, the fees for a barrister to attend a one day hearing will range between £1,250 to £2,500 per day plus vat and disbursements (depending on experience) 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 on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation with ACAS which is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
- Preparing the claim form setting out your case or the response form when a claim has been made against you;
- Reviewing and advising on a claim form submitted or response form 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 or case management discussion
- 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
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the 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.
If you are bringing or defending a claim, you should review any insurance policies you have in place (such as household insurance cover or business insurance cover) to see if there is a cover for your legal costs. As the policyholder, you have the freedom to choose who represents you.
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 four-six weeks.
If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take six to twelve 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. Following the abolition of tribunal fees, there has been over a 60% increase in claims which has resulted in longer time scales for a case to reach a full hearing.