Solicitors Regulation Authority Transparency Rules 2018

Pricing information concerning defence of wrongful and/or unfair dismissal claims before the UK Employment Tribunal.

The following information is provided in accordance with the SRA Transparency Rules and applies solely to our services in relation to acting for businesses on the defence of wrongful and/or unfair dismissal claims before UK Employment Tribunals. We do not act for individuals in bringing wrongful and/or unfair dismissal claims before UK Employment Tribunals and so no information is provided on this website in relation to those services.

It is important to note that we rarely act for businesses in relation to claims that involve only unfair or wrongful dismissal claims before a UK Employment Tribunal. Most of our contentious work will involve claims relating to complex issues of discrimination and/or whistleblowing. If you are considering using our services, we strongly recommend that you contact one of our UK employment partners to explore whether we are the right firm to use for your matter. Details of our UK employment partners and the associates in our UK employment team (including details of our experience and qualifications and the type of work that we do) can be found here:

Ed Bowyer

Our pricing for defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal on behalf of businesses is strongly influenced by the facts of each case. Our fees will typically range from:

£35,000 to £50,000 for a simple case of unfair dismissal;
£50,000 to £150,000 for a medium complexity case of unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and/or discrimination under the Equality Act; and
£150,000 to £350,000 for a complex case involving allegations of discrimination or whistleblowing, multiples witnesses and document heavy facts.

These figures are exclusive of VAT and disbursements (see below) but include all our advice from being instructed on a claim through to its resolution. The basis for our charges are our hourly rates which vary according to the seniority of the fee earner involved, the type of work being carried out and any agreed fee arrangements with a particular client. Our lowest hourly rate is £385 and our highest hourly rate is £1,140. The seniority of the members of staff dealing with your case will depend on its complexity. Please contact one of our UK employment partners if you would like to discuss a particular matter and we will provide you with details of rates for that matter.

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;
Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person;
Making or defending a costs application;
Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties);
The number of witnesses and documents involved. A detailed witness statement will typically cost £10,000 or more and a heavy disclosure exercise will cost materially more than £50,000;
Allegations of discrimination or whistleblowing which are linked to the dismissal; and
Regulatory issues that are linked to the case.

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £3,500 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 3 to 10 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

In addition to our fees, additional fees for certain aspects of the work required to defend a claim may be payable, for example counsel's fees for representing you at a hearing. Counsel's fees will vary depending upon the seniority and experience of the counsel instructed and on the complexity of the matter. We would discuss with you the level of counsel's fees or any other third-party fees before incurring such fees on your behalf. Counsel's fees can, in certain cases, be of a similar level to our fees (see above for the range of our fees).

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of 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 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 bundles of documents;
Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements;
Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list; and
Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee will vary according to the number of stages 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 the basis of your individual needs.

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 a case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, the matter may only take 4 – 6 weeks. If your claim is complex and proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case could take over a year to resolve. 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.