Wrongful and unfair dismissal charging information for employees

At the first appointment we will consider whether there is third party funding available, typically under an insurance policy. If a suitable policy is in place we are generally willing to accept instructions from your insurance provider and offer you a service at hourly rates to be agreed with the insurer. You are entitled to insist on the insurer appointing a solicitor of your own choice once any claim has been issued and in many cases insurers will allow you to do so before any claim has been issued.

In other cases our charges will be based on our solicitors' hourly rates which are dependent upon the level of experience of the solicitor. Our current range of hourly rates for members of the team is from £165 plus VAT to £450 plus VAT per hour.

It can be difficult to provide an accurate cost estimate at the outset of a case as there are a great number of variables, especially including how reasonably the Respondent and/or any representative appointed by the Respondent conduct themselves.

We would usually expect our total costs for bringing a two day ordinary unfair or wrongful dismissal claim to be between £10,000 and £25,000 plus VAT, but they can be higher than this if the case is a complex one, particularly where the sums in dispute are high.

A typical case of unfair or wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal involves the following stages:

• taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the strength of your claim and how much compensation you may be awarded if you win (this assessment is likely to be revisited throughout the case and may be subject to change, if new evidence emerges)
• entering into pre-claim conciliation in order to explore whether a settlement can be reached
• preparing your claim and finalising this with you
• preparing for and attending a Preliminary Hearing (when the Tribunal sets a timetable for the litigation)
• preparing your schedule of loss
• reviewing and listing all your documents that are relevant to the case, exchanging documents with the Respondent and agreeing a bundle of documents for the Tribunal
• taking evidence from witnesses (including you), drafting witness statements and agreeing their content with the witnesses
• preparing a bundle of documents for the Tribunal
• reviewing and advising on the Respondent's witness statements
• agreeing a list of issues and a chronology with the Respondent
• preparation and attendance at the final hearing, including instructing a barrister to represent you and approving the barrister's skeleton argument

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages 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, or to deal with some of the early preparation yourself, but instruct us to appoint a barrister and ensure that everything is ready for trial.

Factors that could make your defence more complex and/or add cost include:

• if it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend the pleadings (claim or defence), to obtain documents or to request further information about the claim.
• defending claims that are brought by Respondents who are not legally represented and acting unreasonably.
• preliminary issues which may need to be considered at a separate hearing, such as whether you were an employee or whether you are out of time to bring a claim.
• the number of witnesses and documents.
• the frequency and length of our correspondence and telephone calls with you.
• the number of issues and events which the Tribunal will need to consider in order to determine the claim.
  allegations of discrimination, whistleblowing or other claims which are linked to the dismissal.
  postponements of hearings (sometimes the Tribunal postpones hearings at short notice and this is outside our control).
  the amount of negotiation with the Respondent about settlement.
  making or defending an application for costs.

Disbursements are costs related to your case that are payable to third parties such as barristers' fees and photocopying fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process, but reclaim these from you.

Barristers' fees will depend on the seniority of the barrister but for a two day ordinary unfair or wrongful dismissal claim where the amount in dispute is not very high we would expect the barrister to charge a fee of £1,500 to £3,000 plus VAT per day to attend the first day of the hearing (including preparation) and an additional fee of £1,000 to £1,500 plus VAT for the second hearing day. Wherever possible we will suggest at least two barristers for you to choose from.

Please note that the total cost for defending your claim includes disbursements as well as our fees

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your case depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during the pre-claim conciliation period, your case is likely to take about six weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing your case is likely to take 12 months, but it could take even longer than this. This is just an estimate and the length of Tribunal cases varies between Tribunals and at different times of the year. The final hearing is almost always set at the Preliminary Hearing and we are therefore unlikely to be able to predict how long it is likely to take for your case to be heard until the Preliminary Hearing has taken place. Tribunals will not always give their decision at the hearing and may only do so some months after the hearing.

We are a specialist team of employment lawyers comprising four partners and two associate solicitors. We are supported by a number of trainees who will assist in the preparation of your case, where appropriate, to help us provide a cost effective service.

Anthony Sakrouge, Alex Bearman, Ed Wanambwa and Jeremy Coy have extensive experience advising individuals in all types of employment claims. We frequently act for senior executives and professionals working in financial services, technology, education, the law and management consulting. We are also instructed by more junior employees in all kinds of sectors. In the very large majority of cases we are able to secure excellent settlements for our clients, often at an early stage. As well as acting in claims of unfair and wrongful dismissal claims we advise on discrimination, whistleblowing, internal grievance and disciplinary procedures, termination negotiations and post-termination restrictions (restrictive covenants).

We will always give you practical and commercial advice and provide realistic assessments of your prospects and your options at the beginning of a case and as the matter progresses. We focus on supporting you to minimise the stress involved in an employment dispute and obtain resolution as quickly as possible.