Our pricing for defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal in the employment tribunal are based on our standard hourly charging rates. Our estimates are:

Simple case: £6000-£12,000 (plus VAT)

Medium complexity case: £12,000-£25,000 (plus VAT)

High complexity case: £25,000--£35,000 (plus VAT)

The following factors could make a case more complex and will impact on the total level of our costs:

  • Dealing with applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim, whether we are making the application or defending it
  • 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 an employee has been dismissed after making a public interest disclosure (blowing the whistle) on their employer
  • Allegations of discrimination or unlawful victimisation which are linked to the dismissal
  • The extent to which our support is required with collating evidence and preparing witness statements

If we attend the Tribunal hearing in addition to the barrister who is instructed to represent you at the hearing, there will be an additional charge for one of our representatives attending a Tribunal Hearing with the barrister, based on our hourly rate, but capped at £1,000 per day (plus VAT). Tribunal hearings unfair dismissal claims can be of varying length, but generally a simple claim should be completed within 1-2 days, with more complicated cases running for a week or longer. The length of the hearing will depend upon the complexity of the evidence and the number of witnesses.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. If disbursements are required, you will need to make those payments direct to the third-party.

Barristers/Counsel's fees are estimated between £1000 to £3000 (plus VAT) for the ‘Brief’ fee (which is the preparation and the first day at a hearing) then a lower fee for each subsequent day of advocacy of between £850 and £2250 per day(depending on the experience of the advocate instructed which will depend upon the complexity of the case).

Key stages
The fee indications set out above should 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 the response to the claim
  • Reviewing and advising on the claim as the case progresses
  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
  • Considering and responding to 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 of various stages, and some will not be required (in which case 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.

Timescales: 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, the case may take 4-6 weeks. If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, the length of the process will depend upon the employment tribunal in which it is proceeding, but can take between 3 -12 months. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give more accurate timescale once we have more information and as a matter progresses.

Our People who may undertake the work for you
Our team has over 40 years of collective experience in representing clients in employment tribunal litigation.
We have two solicitors who may work on your matter, both being founding partners in this firm. They are Emma Ramsay and Stephanie Paterson and you can find out more about them and their experience by clicking on their names.