Price Transparency Rules

Employment Tribunal Costs

In accordance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s rules on costs transparency, we have set out below our costs for bringing and defending wrongful and unfair dismissal claims in the Employment Tribunal. The costs set out below are an estimate. 

Wrongful Dismissal Claim (single claim):

£5000 - £10,000 plus VAT

Unfair Dismissal Claims:

Simple cases: £8000 - £12,000 plus VAT

Medium complexity cases: £12,000 - £20,000 plus VAT

Complex cases: £20,000 - £35,000 plus VAT

Factors influencing the cost of your case

•    Multiple or additional complex claims, such as discrimination and whistleblowing
•    Complex preliminary issues e.g. establishing if you or the other party has a disability 
•    Making or defending 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
•    The volume of witnesses 
•    The volume of documents
•    If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim  

Key stages included in the above prices 

•    Taking your initial instructions
•    Reviewing documents  
•    Entering into pre-claim conciliation
•    Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
•    Advising you on liability (your chances of winning) and quantum (any likely compensation you may receive)
•    Preparing, drafting and submitting the ET1 (claim form) or ET3 (response form)
•    Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the other party
•    Preparing and attending a preliminary hearing
•    Preparing and finalising or considering a schedule of loss
•    Preparing, finalising and agreeing a bundle of documents
•    Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
•    Preparing, finalising and exchanging or considering a bundle of documents with the other side
•    Attendance, by us, at the final tribunal hearing 

The stages set out above are an indication of range of services we offer and can be adapted to suit your individual needs.

Potential Additional Charges

•    Substantial applications – if a formal request requires considerable preparation and/or response
•    Expenses and disbursements – these can include: travel, accommodation, medical and other expert reports, postage and photocopying
•    Advocacy services: This will be an additional cost if we need to instruct Counsel for their opinion and/or for their attendance at the hearing
•    Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
•    Preparing and attending judicial mediation 

Disbursements

Disbursements are expenses related to your case payable to us or to third parties. We can handle payment of disbursements on your behalf but sometimes you may be asked to pay them direct. 

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 2-12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take 39-104 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.

Our Solicitors

We have eight solicitors in our Employment Law Department, any of whom may work on your matter and will be supervised by Darren Stevens. An overview of their experience and standard hourly rates are as follows:

Darren Stevens, Head of Employment 
15 years qualified
£285 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of his experience and qualifications, see Darren’s profile.

Amanda Brown, Senior Employment Lawyer 
19 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications, see Amanda’s profile.

Lorraine Williams, Senior Employment Lawyer
18 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications, see Lorraine’s profile.

Megan O’Hara, Senior Employment Lawyer 
18 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications, see Megan’s profile.

Chloe Pereira, Senior Employment Lawyer 
9 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications, see Chloe’s profile.

Melissa Nelson, Senior Employment Lawyer
9 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications, see Melissa’s profile.

Jo Pengelley, Senior Employment Lawyer 
9 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications, see Jo’s profile.

Zena Wroe, Senior Employment Lawyer 
8 years qualified
£250 plus VAT
For a more in-depth view of her experience and qualifications.