Employment

We recognise that being involved in an employment dispute is incredibly personal, daunting and a stressful time. Obtaining the right employment advice can assist in reducing that pressure and can make a significant difference to the outcome.  

• Settlement agreements 
• Disciplinary and grievance proceedings
• Changes to your terms and conditions
• Restrictive covenants
• Unfair dismissal
• Discrimination and harassment
• Public interest disclosures (Whistleblowing)

• Claims that also involve allegations of discrimination or whistleblowing, or automatic unfair dismissal such as a TUPE or health and safety related dismissal.
• Complex factual background, spanning several years.
• Number of documents or witnesses.
• Making or resisting a costs application.
• Attending to preliminary issues such as jurisdictional issues or time frames.
• Disbursements are items such as barrister, expert or witness expenses.

Key stages

The costs set out above cover all of the work involved in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the strength of your case and likely compensation (this will be revisited throughout the matter)
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation, where this is mandatory, to explore whether a settlement can be reached
• Exploring and negotiating potential settlement throughout the process
• Preparing the necessary paperwork to issue the claim
• Drafting a Schedule of your Losses
• Exchanging documents with the other side, reviewing documents and creating a bundle for the Tribunal
• Obtaining and drafting witness statements,
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
• Agreeing a list of issues and chronology where necessary
• Dealing with any Telephone Preliminary Hearing

The charges cover each stage, however some of the stages may not be required and the costs would adjust to reflect the changes. Similarly costs could be reduced if you decided to take on some of the preparation yourself, for example obtaining the first drafts of the witness statements yourself.  If you have a specific budget to work with, please do contact us and we can advise you on how to make the budget more cost-effective, ensuring the budget is invested in the more crucial elements.

The range of costs provided are based on our hourly rates, which vary based on the level of expertise needed to provide you with the right service. 

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your case that are payable to third parties, such as expert fees, counsel costs or court fees. These are costs in addition to the sums set out above. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

If you decide to instruct a barrister to represent you and present your case at a Tribunal Hearing, it is likely you can expect a barrister's fee to range from £1,250 to £5,000 (excluding VAT charged at 20%) for a 1 day case. The cost will significantly vary depending on the level of seniority and experience of the barrister you wish to instruct. If the hearing is more than 1 day, the barrister will charge what is called a refresher fee. Refresher fees typically range from £850 to £2,500 (excluding VAT charged at 20%) per additional day.

Funding

You may have other funding options available, such as cover under an insurance policy and this should be checked by you as it could reduce your costs.

How long will my case take?

The time that it takes from your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which you case is resolved and the timetable determined by the employment tribunal handling your case. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take between 2 to 6 weeks from commencement of the pre-claim conciliation process. However, if your claim proceeds to a final hearing in the employment tribunal, your case is likely to take between 9 to 18 months from the date the claim is issued for a simple claim. The more complex claims could take a couple of years. We will of course advise you more accurately on time frames, having understood the specifics of your case.