We charge on an hourly rate basis and each of our solicitors has their own hourly rate.

The hourly rate is based on experience and years of qualification.  Our fees may also reflect the complexity of the individual matter, the value involved, or the specific skills required.

Our hourly rates range from £190.00 to £275.00 per hour.

At the outset of your matter, your solicitor will inform you what work will need to be undertaken and provide you an estimate of costs.  This will then be re-confirmed to you in writing in our Terms of Business Letter.  You will also be provided with a cost update at any time upon your request.

Disbursements and other charges

Any necessary disbursements or payments to third parties made on your behalf will be charged to you.  These could include court fees and fees paid to barristers and experts who have been instructed in connection with your matter.  As we are obliged to ensure that disbursements are paid, we ask Clients to provide us with the funds for such costs in advance.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are based on the fact that the case concerned is a straightforward unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal case.

The cost estimates shown below do not take into consideration any element of discrimination claim or any other potential claim arising from employment.

Simple case: £3,000.00-£7,500.00 (excluding VAT and Disbursements)

Medium complexity case: £7,500.00 – £10,000.00 (excluding VAT and Disbursements)

High complexity case: £10,000.00 -£20,000.00 (excluding VAT and Disbursements)

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
• The venue of your claim- wrongful dismissal claims of higher value may be brought in the County or High Court rather than the Employment Tribunal
• The conduct of the other party such as missing deadlines causes disruption or delay in proceedings
• Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person (i.e. a claimant who is acting for themselves and is unrepresented)
• Making or defending a costs application (i.e. applying to the Court for an order that legal costs are paid by another party
• Complex preliminary issues such (such as disputed claims for discrimination, any time issues regarding the application for the court)
• The number of witnesses and documents involved including whether you are required to give written rather than verbal evidence
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim (i.e. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer)
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal (i.e. claims under the Equality Act)
• Any loss you have suffered requiring detailed or complex assessment such as where employee share schemes are involved
• Delays or postponements in hearings where additional work is required for preparation of the rearranged hearing
• The length of trial and whether there are additional hearings. Sometimes a separate hearing is held to assess any award.
• Any delay in obtaining your instructions or any paperwork or evidence is provided in a piecemeal fashion

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 any kind of compulsory discussions prior to Trial (i.e. ACAS) 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, then time will of course not be recorded for completing them. 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.

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.

The most significant additional costs will be where we instruct a barrister to represent you in Tribunal or to draft/prepare documents. Counsel’s fees will vary depending on experience of the advocate and complexity of the matter as per the points above and can be up to £6,000 per day.

We have a preferred chambers and will work with you in the choice of barrister to represent you at trial.

We expect their fees to range from £1,500.00 to £3,000.00 per day (depending on experience of the barrister) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

Other Disbursements May Include:

• Obtaining Information from Companies House – cost will vary depending on the information required
• Tribunal Fees– There are none presently but this is under review.
• Courier Fees – These may be incurred if papers or other items are urgently needed to be delivered to counsel, another party or the Court
• Expert’s Fees– These may arise if we have to instruct an expert in relation to a particular issue which cannot be agreed without their opinion. The expert’s fee will depend on the amount of work she is required to do and this is usually a fixed fee. Examples would include medical experts, forensic accountants etc.
• Photocopying– Where we are required to produce copies of bundles on your behalf or because the Tribunal orders us to do so, we will charge at 5p per page.

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 matter could take 4-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take anywhere between 9-18 months. This is largely due to the need for listing and pressure on the Tribunal service to accommodate Hearings.

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.