Employment Tribunals (unfair or wrongful dismissal)
Employment Tribunals – Fees Guidance and Information (acting for Claimant or Defendant)
Simple case £6,000 – £8,000 +VAT
Medium complexity case £8,000 – £10,000 +VAT
Highly complex case £10,000 – £14,000 + VAT
Factors that could make a case more complex
- Allegations of discrimination linked to dismissal
- Preliminary issues such as whether the Claimant is disabled, in the event this is not agreed
- Automatically unfair dismissal, eg. Pregnancy or trade union membership
- The need to make or amend claims or to provide further information on a claim
- Defending a claim brought by a litigant in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- The number of witnesses and documents
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs to third parties such as medical reports, if required.
Counsel’s fees, for a Barrister to conduct your Tribunal Hearing, range from £500 to £1,250 per day, depending on the experience of Counsel. The length of the hearing will depend on the number of witnesses and the complexity of the case.
Work Included
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following stages of a claim:
- Taking your instructions, considering the papers and advising on the merits or your claim and likely compensation ;
- Conducting pre-claim conciliation where required, to determine whether settlement can be reached;
- Preparing your claim or response, completing either the ET1 claim form or ET3 response form;
- Reviewing the response form the other part and advising you’
- Exploring settlement throughout the claim period;
- Preparing a schedule of loss or considering a schedule of loss received;
- Preparing for and attending preliminary hearings;
- Exchange of documents with the other side and agreeing a bundle of documents;
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing statements with witnesses;
- Preparing a bundle of documents;
- Considering the other party’s witness statements and advising on the contents;
- Agreeing a list of issues, chronology and written submissions;
- Preparation and attendance at a final hearing, including instructions to Counsel.
Where not all stages listed above are required, the fee will be reduced. Advice may be sought on some of the stages only.
How long will my matter take?
The time 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 – 6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case could take 2-3 months. 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. Timescales will to some extent be dependent on dates provided by the Employment Tribunal.
Our employment law specialists are David Richards. His details can be found on the “Our People” page.
