Employment Tribunal Pricing

Our service

Our Employment Team can help current and former employees bring a tribunal claim against their employer for a breach of employment law. We can also help employers defend such claims. We specialise in high-value and complex cases and as such our service is highly bespoke and will be tailored to your needs and the business sector in which you operate.

All work is supervised by a senior lawyer, who may be a Partner, Consultant Solicitor or Consultant Barrister. At the beginning of your matter we will tell you who will be working for you and who to contact should you have any concerns with our service. We will also explain the scope of our services.

This page gives an example employment matter, seen from both the point of view of the employee or the employer, and sets out what would be included in such a service. We routinely deal with matters very much more complicated than this example matter.

What is included

The key stages involved in Employment Tribunal matters include:

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the strategy of what you might do.
• Preliminary advice to you on the likely value of the claim and any likely award (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and is subject to change).
• Assisting you to conduct pre-claim conciliation to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
• Preparing the claim or the response to the claim.
• Reviewing and advising on the claim or the response from the other party.
• Preparing or considering a schedule of loss.
• Preparing for and attending a Preliminary Hearing.
• Agreeing a bundle of documents and exchanging it with the other party.
• Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
• Preparing bundles of documents for the tribunal and your advocate.
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
• Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list.
• Preparation for and attendance at the final hearing, including instructing an advocate to represent you.
• Advising you and, where required, conducting or arranging representation at any preliminary hearings that may arise during the course of an Employment Tribunal claim.

What is excluded

The fees set out below would not include any further work, such as:

• Dealing with whistleblowing.
• Any work required before the employment is terminated (e.g. in relation to an investigation or a grievance).
• Settlement discussions.
• Any work required linked to post-termination contractual provisions such as restrictive covenants.
• Any work linked to unpaid remuneration (e.g. salary, bonus, pension and equity elements) as part of the employment.
• Any work linked to the impact of the termination on your professional or regulatory position as a member of or a person authorised by a regulatory or professional body.
• Any appeal.
• Any work linked to enforcement of any judgment.
• Any work regarding your reputation.
• Advising on tax.
• Documenting a negotiated settlement.
• Any additional work that is necessary as a result of a change in instructions from you.
• Any work in relation to an agreed mediation process.

What we charge

Our Partners and Consultant Solicitors/Barristers charge hourly rates from £500 to £1,100. Our Associates and Legal Executives charge hourly rates from £190 to £450. Our Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and Legal Assistants charge hourly rates from £100 to £350. All rates depend on the seniority of the individual and the practice area. In some limited cases and on request, we may offer to work on a fixed-fee, contingency or damages-based basis. In these exceptional cases, fees are discussed and agreed before we start work.

We offer a bespoke service and each matter is unique. We can only estimate the likely costs of our Employment Tribunal services once we have discussed the matter with you and seen the papers. However, we can provide an indication of our likely fees associated with work of varying complexity as set out above under the heading “What is included”.

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• Detailed settlement discussions.
• Needing to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim.
• The involvement of professional rules or sector-specific regulation, such the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.
• Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person.
• Making or defending a costs application.
• Longer hearings and more complicated facts.
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties).
• More witnesses and documents.
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.
• The actual conduct and attitude of any or all of the parties involved in any claim.
• Making or replying to any interim applications made to the Employment Tribunal before the Final Hearing.

In addition to our fees, you will need to budget for the following:

• Instructing a barrister/advocate to represent you. It is difficult to estimate fees for counsel since this depends on the complexity of the matter, experience of the advocate required, and whether the matter reaches trial. A junior barrister will cost somewhere between £250 to £300 per hour for advice on a case, and between £1,800 to £2,500 per day in tribunal. A senior barrister will cost somewhere between £600 to £800 per hour for advice and between £3,000 to £6,000 per day in tribunal.
• The fees of any expert who may be required to report on a particular matter (£3,000 to £20,000 per expert, depending on the type of expert and the nature of the report required).
  We incur these and other necessary additional third-party costs (“disbursements”) on your behalf. We would usually discuss disbursements with you in advance and incur them on your behalf when appropriate. You are responsible for all disbursements; we add them to your bill without mark-up. You don’t need to pay these third parties directly, though. You simply pay our bill and we will pass on the relevant sum on your behalf to the relevant third party in settlement of their fees.

Rates and VAT

Where VAT applies, then we add this to our charges at the prevailing rate. The figures quoted above all include VAT at 20%.  Most disbursements attract VAT at the prevailing rate. This will be added to the bills we receive.  We pass the total cost on to you.  We do not add VAT on to disbursements where VAT has already been added by the relevant third party.  Certain disbursements, such as official fees, are not subject to VAT. Where our services are not a vatable supply, then we do not charge VAT and the quote above is reduced by 20%.

How long it will 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 one to two months. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take six to twelve months, but may possibly take as long as two years or more in certain circumstances. 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. You should also note that the progress of your matter will be affected by when clerks to the Employment Tribunal list your matter to be heard. This is entirely outside our control. As with all litigation, there is no guarantee that you will be achieve your desired outcome.