Pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

Pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

If you are making or defending an unfair or wrongful dismissal claim, there are a number of funding options available to you. You should check any insurance policies that you may have (including household insurance policies and any policies associated with a bank account) which may contain legal expenses cover. Other funding options include paying a fixed hourly rate for the work we do.

The members of our Employment Team have over 25 years’ combined experience in dealing with wrongful and unfair dismissal claims. To view the staff profiles of our Employment Team, please click here.

Estimated costs:

Estimated costs for bringing or defending a wrongful of unfair dismissal claim are as follows:

*The cost will vary depending on the type of fee-earner assigned to your case. The Directors charge out at between £200- 250 per hour and a paralegal charges out at between £100- 150 per hour. All bills attract VAT at 20%.

*In certain circumstances we may deem cases suitable to offer that client the use of a conditional fee agreement. Under our conditional fee agreements, the responsibility for payment of disbursements remains solely with the client and we may charge the client for work done if that client cancels the agreement (outside of the cancellation period), breaches the terms of the agreement and/or behaves unreasonably to the extent that we have to cancel the agreement.

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.
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer.
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as counsel’s fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are usually estimated to be between £500 and £2,000 per day excluding VAT (depending on the experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

*Most disbursements will also attract VAT at 20%

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

1. Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising on merits and likely award of damages (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).
2. Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
3. Preparing the claim or response.
4. Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from other party.
5. Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
6. Preparing or considering a schedule of loss.
7. Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing.
8. Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents.
9. Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
10. preparing bundle of documents.
11. Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
12. Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list.
13. 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 be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages which will also reduce your legal fees and can also be arranged to suit your individual needs.

How long will my matter take?

The time that it takes from taking initial instructions to the final resolution of the matter depends largely on the stage at which the case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 4-6 weeks. If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, the case is likely to take approximately 9 – 12 months. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

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