Whether you are a company or an individual, Employment Tribunal claims are costly and time-consuming. Given the increase in the number of Tribunal claims, it can also take several months for a claim to be resolved, even in straightforward cases.

There is no requirement for you to bring or defend a Tribunal claim and even if you decide to do so, there is no obligation on you to follow the process through to a Final Hearing. If you do decide to bring or defend a claim, we will work with you to determine the right strategy for you with a view to achieving the outcome that you are seeking.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal is set out below:

• Simple case (usually 1-2 days in Tribunal with no more than 2 witnesses): £7,500 – £10,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%, and disbursements)
• Medium complexity case (usually 2-4 days in Tribunal): £10,000 – £15,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%, and disbursements)
• High complexity case (usually more than 4 days in Tribunal): £15,000 – £25,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%, and disbursements)

Factors that could make a case more complex include:

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim or defence
• Defending claims that are brought by individuals who are not represented
• Making or defending a costs application
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether a claim is brought in time or if a claimant is disabled (if these are not agreed by the parties)
• Attending and preparing for Preliminary Hearings
• The number of witnesses and volume of documents
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if an individual is dismissed after blowing the whistle on their employer
• Allegations of discrimination, harassment or victimisation which are linked to the dismissal

There will be an additional charge for one of our lawyers attending a Tribunal Hearing of between £1,000 and £1,250 per day (excluding VAT, charged at 20%), depending on who attends.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees or the costs of a barrister who will do the advocacy in the hearing. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Barrister’s fees are based on a “brief fee” (to prepare for the Tribunal Hearing) which is usually between £500 to £2,500 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%) and a fee for attending a Tribunal Hearing of between £750 to £1,500 per day (excluding VAT, charged at 20%) depending on their level of experience.

You will also be charged for any out of pocket expenses that we may incur in dealing with your claim or defence, including travel costs, car parking charges, subsistence, courier fees and hotel charges (where an overnight stay is required).

The fees set out above cover the work in relation to the following key stages of a 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 a claim or response
• Reviewing and advising on a claim or response from the other party
• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
• Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
• Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
• Taking witness statements, drafting witness statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
• Preparing a bundle of documents
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
• Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or a cast list
• Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to a barrister

The stages set out above are an indication only and not all of these stages will be required in every claim. You may also wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages.

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. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 4-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case could take between 6-12 months but in some cases may take longer. These timescales are however an estimate and we will give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Please note that timescales can also be affected by factors outside of our control including the efficiency of the Tribunal in which your claim or defence has been brought (for example, in dealing with correspondence regarding your claim or listing the claim for a hearing) and the approach taken by the other party to the claim.

If you have any queries about costs, please give us a call – we’d be happy to discuss these in more detail with you.