Our estimated costs for bringing and defending claims (all the way to a final hearing) in the employment tribunal is as follows.
Standard complexity: £6,000 – £12,000 (excluding VAT)
Medium complexity case: £12,000 – £20,000 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case: £20,000 – unlimited (excluding VAT)
Factors that could make a case more complex include:
- 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)
- Where preliminary hearings are required to decide further substantive points of law
- Multiparty claims
- 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
- Transfer of undertakings issues
Cases that proceed in the courts (rather than the tribunals) are not covered by this pricing information and will be estimated separately.
Disbursements
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.
Barrister’s fees are estimated between £1,000 to £3,000 (excluding VAT) per day (depending on their seniority) for representing you at a Tribunal Hearing.
There may also be travel disbursements and overnight stays in hotels depending on the location of the hearing.
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 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
- Advising on merits
- 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.
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 4 – 16 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, this will depend largely on the complexity of the case and Tribunal availability. As an initial estimate, your case to final hearing is likely to take 6 – 18 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.