Our Fees

We make every effort to ensure that your work is handled by the most appropriate person based on their expertise and experience. The full details of each member of the team are available through the following links:

• Edward Henderson
• Ed's standard hourly rate is £550.00
• Niamh McKay
  Niamh's standard hourly rate is £395.00
• Michael Anderson
  Michael's standard hourly rate is £350.00
• Edward Reid
  Edward's standard hourly rate is £275.00
  (Our trainees rotate on a six month basis through the different departments in the firm and sit with and are supervised by a Partner)

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Examples of our likely costs

As we tend to charge by the hour, it is not possible to provide the total cost of bringing an Employment Tribunal claim from start to finish. We can, however, provide a range of costs instead, based on our knowledge and experience.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

Simple case: £2,000-£10,000 (excluding VAT)

Medium complexity case: £10,000-£25,000 (excluding VAT)

High complexity case: £25,000-£100,000 (excluding VAT)

Factors that could make a case more complex (and thus impact on costs) include:

• Whether the case goes to Tribunal or is settled;
• 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);
• 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.

Claims can be funded in a variety of different ways, for example: on an hourly rate basis; pursuant to a Conditional Fee Agreement (provided we think prospects of success are sufficiently high); or pursuant to Legal Expenses Insurance. Any settlement monies recovered in the litigation help defray costs incurred by the client in funding the claim personally.

Save in exceptional circumstances, costs are not recoverable in Employment Tribunal claims.

The fees set out here 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 claim form (called an "ET1") or the response (called an "ET3");
• Reviewing and advising on the claim or the 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 a 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 a Final Hearing, including drafting instructions to Counsel.

The stages set out above are only 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.

Variable Factors

These factors are largely the same as the factors that could make a case more complex (see above).

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as barristers' fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Barrister's fees are estimated at between £1,500 and £5,000 (excluding VAT) per day (depending on the experience and seniority of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation). Barristers who attend tribunal for more than one day tend to charge "daily refreshers", estimated at between £1,000 and £5,000 (excluding VAT).

VAT

We are obliged to charge VAT (at the standard rate – currently 20%) on our costs and on those disbursements that are subject to VAT at the applicable rate. All cost estimates provided are exclusive of VAT.

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, your case is likely to take 2-12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 26-52 weeks. 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.