Price & Service Information

Employment Tribunal Work

We are required to publish information about the price (or ‘costs’) of our Employment Tribunal work and the services you will receive if you instruct us.

This includes information about our fees and any third-party costs (also known as “disbursements”) associated with such a matter, as well as information about the stages of work and the likely timeframes for completing it. 

The figures we have provided are not quotes.  Our actual costs will vary depending on the complexity of the matter and the claims you are bringing or defending.  We are happy to speak to you about the details of your case so we can provide better estimates of our fees and the likely timeframe.

We may also apply discounts to clients who instruct us on a portfolio of claims.

Our Fees

We usually charge on an hourly basis, so our costs will depend on the amount of time we spend working on a matter and the experience of the team members involved.  More complex cases will result in higher fees, as they require more time to prepare and require more senior staff to handle the work. 

Typical fee ranges for different levels of complexity are set out below. These figures exclude VAT, which is currently chargeable at 20%.

•      Simple case: £15,000 – £25,000

•      Medium Complexity case: £25,000 – £50,000

•      High Complexity case: £50,000+ 

A case will tend to more complex if:

•      We need to deal with preliminary/procedural issues (e.g. whether the claim has been filed within applicable time limits).

•      There are a large number of witnesses or documents.

•      We are defending a claim brought by an individual or company without legal representation (aka a “litigant in person”).  There are a number of reasons for this, in particular the fact that we are under an obligation not to take unfair advantage of the party’s lack of legal representation, so we are likely to need to take more time to explain our actions and arguments. 

•      Those involved from a Company’s perspective are more senior (and we are acting for the Company);

•      The claim involves complex allegations or questions of law (e.g whistleblowing complaints);

•      We are making an application for the other party to pay the costs you incur (or defending such an application from the other party).

•      The hearing is likely to take longer than normal.

•      There are wider regulatory issues.

Third-Party Costs (Disbursements)

In addition to the fees above, you will be responsible for all third-party costs associated with your matter. These may appear in our invoice as disbursements, or we may arrange for third parties to invoice you directly.

The main third-party cost associated with our employment tribunal work is the cost of instructing a barrister (also known as “counsel”) who will represent you in the Employment Tribunal hearing.

Barristers’ fees vary widely depending on the barrister’s seniority and experience and the amount of work they undertake.  We can provide a better estimate of their likely fees (and obtain estimates) once we have assessed your case.

For information, barristers tend to charge by way of hourly rates for advising on particular issues or for dealing with certain urgent matters (such as advice on, or dealing with, a potential injunction) and by way of fixed fees for preparing for and attending the first day of the hearing (a “brief fee”) and for subsequent days (a “refresher”).  When used, hourly rates vary widely and can range from, for example, £200 to £600 an hour plus VAT.  Further information is available on most chambers’ websites.

Other typical third-party costs include photocopying fees and courier fees.

Key Stages & Timeline

The fee estimates above are based on a ‘typical’ Employment Tribunal matter – which may include some or all of the following stages:

•      Taking instructions – we will speak to you about the services you require, review your documents, advise you on the merits and financial value of the claim. Where possible, we will consider, at an early stage, the optimum strategy for handling the matter, taking into account your objectives.

•      Pre-claim conciliation – this is a mandatory dispute resolution process facilitated by Acas (the publicly funded Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and involves exploring whether a settlement can be reached before the matter progresses to a hearing.

•      Filing the claim/response – we will prepare your claim / response form and review the other party’s claim / response.

•      Preliminary hearings – we will prepare for and attend any preliminary hearings. It may also be appropriate to engage a barrister to represent you at certain preliminary hearings.  These deal with both procedural and substantive issues which the tribunal must assess before the final hearing.

•      Exchanging documents – we will exchange relevant documents with the other party as part of the tribunal’s “disclosure” process, which helps us gather all information relevant to the claim. We will also agree with the other party which documents should be included in the “bundle” of documents submitted to the court.  This is usually a fairly extensive exercise.

•      Witness statements – we will interview witnesses, draft their witness statements, and arrange for them to agree the contents. We will also review witness statements prepared by the other party.

•      Bundling documents – before the hearing, we will prepare the folder of documents to be submitted to the tribunal. This is known as the “bundle”. This will include documents which assist the tribunal to establish the facts of the case – e.g., a list of issues, a chronology of events and/or a list of persons involved in the events (aka a “cast list”).

•      Settlement – we will, if you wish us to, explore the possibility of settling your case and negotiate settlement throughout the process.

•      Final hearing – we will instruct a barrister to represent you in the final hearing, attend “conferences with counsel” to brief them on the issues and help them prepare, and attend the final hearing. 

This process can take anything between a few days (if settlement is reached during the pre-claim conciliation process) and upwards of 12-18 months (if the matter proceeds to a final hearing).

We will be able to provide a more accurate timescale once we have received your instructions, and throughout your matter will keep you informed of factors which may lengthen the process.

Please contact us for more information about our services.