Employment Costs

The Costs guidelines for bringing and defending Employment claims whether through a Court or Tribunal vary according to the complexity of the employment case.

Complexity involves various factors including:

• Whether it is necessary to make or defend applications or whether applications to amend claims in the Tribunal or Court need to be made
• Providing further information about an existing claim
• Defending claims that are brought by Litigants in Person (persons who are not represented by lawyers)
• Making or defending a Costs application
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether the Claimant (person bringing the claim or raising a dispute) is disabled (if this is not agreed by the people involved in the dispute)
• The number of witnesses and documents which can include Medical Records, Reports and documents for employees and employers.
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you or an employee was dismissed after blowing the whistle i.e. reporting on another employee to an employer
• Allegations of discrimination including but not limited to: –

1. Age
2. Race
3. Gender/Sex
4. Disability
5. Religion or
6. A combination of the above

Costs Estimate – (more detailed information and a costs estimate can be provided at the initial appointment)

Simple Complexity Cases – £3,000 to £5,000 plus VAT (£3600 to £6,000 including VAT)

Medium Complexity Cases – £5,000 to £8,000 plus VAT (£6,000 to £9,600 including VAT)

High Complexity Cases – £8,000 to £25,000 plus VAT (£9,600 to £30,000 including VAT)

If we have not acted for you in the last 3 years there will also be an electronic ID verification fee of £16.80 (including VAT).

There will be an additional charge for attending a Court or Tribunal Hearing (if required in addition to Counsel) of £1,500 per day including VAT, not including a mileage charge of £0.45 pence per mile plus VAT for travelling to and from the Court or Tribunal Hearing Centre and Car Park fees.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Court Fees or Medical Expert Fees, Car Park and Mileage as above.

Counsel’s or barristers’ Fees to represent you at a Court or Tribunal Hearing or advise in Conferences (meetings with clients) are estimated at between £1,000 to £3,000 plus VAT (£1,200 to £3,600 including VAT) including preparation per day (depending on the experience of the Counsel/Barrister).

Work included in the cost estimates above

The stages set out below are an indication of the stages of an employment claim.  If some of the stages below are not required, the degree of complexity of the claim will be less and therefore a lower overall cost will be charged compared to a claim where all the stages (and maybe more) are required.

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.

Potential stages of an employment 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 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

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 and the complexity of your case. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 6-10 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 26-39 weeks to resolve the question of liability and possibly another 26 weeks if a further remedy hearing is required. 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.