Employment Dispute Costs
Wrongful or Unfair Dismissal
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal depend on the complexity of the matter.
| Simple Case | £2500 – £4000 (plus VAT) |
| Medium Complexity Case | £4000-£7000 (plus VAT) |
| High complexity Case | £7000- £25000 (plus VAT) |
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
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing based on the hourly rates below per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 1 day for a Simple Case and anywhere from 2 to 10 days depending on the complexity of your case (which may include issues such as discrimination which go beyond unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal).
Basis for Cost Estimates
Estimated provided have been based on the the level of complexity along with the standard hourly rate of the appropriate member of our team.
| Member of Staff | Hourly Rate (exclusive of VAT) |
| Partner | £265 |
| Senior Associate | £235 |
| Associate | £225 |
| Newly Qualified Solicitor | £145 |
| HR Consultant | £155 |
| Trainee Solicitor | £135 |
| Paralegal | £105 |
Depending on the type of case involved with your matter we will allocate the work to team members with a view to undertaking the work as efficiently and economically as possible.
Additional conference with counsel regarding merits/strategy at any part of the claim process will incur additional fees to be charged on the hourly rates above.
Likely Disbursements and Costs
Counsel’s fees and travel costs, costs for hearings (can last from anything from a day to a couple of weeks).
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel’s fees estimated between £750 plus VAT to £3,000 plus VAT per day (depending on experience and specialism) for representation at Employment Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).
Key Stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of pursuing or defending a 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 pre-claim 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
- 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 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 Counsel
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of 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.
