Employment Tribunal Costs
Your case in the Employment Tribunal will be managed by a solicitor or partner and they will always act in your best interests, whether you are an individual or an organisation.
Details of our employment lawyers including their qualifications and experience are available here.
The role of your solicitor is to advise you and prepare your case. If your case goes to a final hearing, your solicitor will instruct a barrister (counsel) to present your case to the judge.
Range of costs
Your solicitor’s normal hourly charging rate ranges from £290–320 plus VAT (total £348–£384), depending upon their role and experience. We know it helps you to have a clear idea of total costs and so we will provide an estimate at the outset and update it as your case progresses.
As a rough guide, our total legal fees for bringing or defending a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal are likely to be:
- Simple case with a final hearing of 1-2 days:
£10,000–£15,000 plus VAT (total £12,000–£18,000) - Medium complexity case with a final hearing of 3-5 days:
£15,000–£25,000 plus VAT (total £18,000–£30,000) - High complexity case with a final hearing of 6 days or more:
£20,000–£45,000 plus VAT (total £24,000–£54,000)
How complex is your case?
Factors that could make a case more complex and therefore more expensive include:
- The number of documents
- The number of witnesses
- Preliminary legal issues (e.g. whether the claim is late or whether the claimant is disabled)
- Making or defending applications (e.g. for amendments, or to provide further information or disclosure of documents)
- If the claim is for automatic unfair dismissal (e.g. whistleblowing)
- If there are allegations of discrimination linked to the dismissal
- Defending claims where the other party has no legal representation
- Making or responding to a costs application.
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all work in relation to the following key stages:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this will be revisited throughout and may change)
- Preparing the claim or response
- Reviewing and advising you throughout
- Exploring and negotiating a settlement throughout
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
- Preparing for and attending a preliminary hearing (case management)
- Exchanging documents with the other party
- Agreeing a bundle of documents, and preparing it where necessary
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s documents and witness statements
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
- Instructing counsel
- Preparing for the final hearing.
"I want to express my gratitude to David and Rebecca for their outstanding efforts on my behalf. Right from our initial discussions, they provided invaluable assistance and were upfront about the merits of my case. Their support made a challenging period much more manageable, and the final outcome exceeded my expectations. I am delighted with the results, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their services to friends and family facing employment issues in the future. Thank you both for your assistance in this matter."
“I would like to say how impressed I was with your professionalism in this matter and I’m very grateful to you for the outcome. After meeting you, I had no doubts about your ability to see the case through and I would have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone who needed your service. Thank you again for your help.”
Additional Charges
There are no fees to issue your claim in the Employment Tribunal.
If you would like your solicitor to attend the final hearing in the Employment Tribunal, there will be a charge of approximately £1,600 plus VAT per day.
Counsel’s Fees
In addition to our fees, you will need to pay counsel’s fees for advocacy at the final hearing. These will vary, depending on how senior the barrister is.
Insurance
If you have a policy of insurance which covers employment related disputes, you may be able to instruct us under the terms of that policy. In those circumstances, your insurer may pay your legal fees in part or in full, although this is subject to the conditions of the policy.
We recommend that you check your insurance policies to see whether they have any legal expenses cover.
How long will your case last?
The more complex your case, the longer it is likely to take to reach a final hearing. Less complex cases may be completed within 6 months but cases that are more complex may take 9–18 months.
Settlement, which can take place at any time, is generally a much quicker way to resolve your case and may take 2–4 weeks in some circumstances.