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Pricing Guidelines

In line with regulatory requirements, we have set out below an outline of the potential costs and timeframes relating to Employment Tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal and wrongful dismissal.  These costs are for both Claimants (individuals) and Respondents (employers).

This information is given only in outline and every case is different.  We will be pleased to give you more detailed information if you would like to contact us.

Claimant cases (acting for an individual)

Our standard approach to pricing is to use an hourly fee rate.  For some cases we may be able to offer fixed-price options as well – we can tell you more about this once we have reviewed your claim.

For 2024 our hourly fee rates for claimants are £295-315 + VAT per hour, depending on the seniority of the lawyer.  These prices represent a significant discount on our standard fee rates.

These fee rates cover all our work in handling a Tribunal case for you.  The total cost of any claim will depend on a range of factors, particularly how long it takes us and how complex the work is.  For this reason, we can only provide you with average costs.

Our average range of prices for a claimant who is bringing a claim, where the case goes all the way to a main hearing (trial), is as follows:

  • Simple case: £15,000 to £25,000 + VAT
  • Medium complexity case: £20,000 to £30,000 + VAT
  • High complexity case (discrimination and whistleblowing cases will usually be “high complexity”): £30,000 to £50,000 + VAT

The services and work covered by these ranges of average price are listed further down this page under ‘Key Stages of a Case’.

Please note that these are average costs and they apply to cases where the case goes all the way to a main hearing (trial).

In actual fact, only around 5% of the cases we are involved with get anywhere near a main hearing.  This is because we are expert in helping our clients to agree a settlement of the claim long before that – and for an amount of money that they are satisfied with.  So if your case concludes earlier than a main hearing (which is likely) then your likely cost will be considerably lower than these average ranges.

Information on what adds to the complexity of a claim, and therefore its cost, can be found further down this page.

In addition to these costs, if the case gets as far as the main hearing you may choose* to be represented in the hearing by a solicitor or barrister.  If you do so, there will be Advocacy fees payable for this representation.  Advocacy costs tend to range from £1,850 to £2,750 + VAT per full day (depending on seniority and qualifications of the advocate and amount of daily preparation work required before and after each day in the Tribunal).  If a barrister is representing you, you may also need to meet with them before the hearing to help them prepare for it (a case conference) which has an average range of cost of £700 to £2,500 + VAT, depending on how long the case conference takes and how much additional work the barrister needs to do in preparation for it.

*If you choose not to be represented by a solicitor or barrister we can still support you and provide mentoring and direction to allow you to represent yourself.

Respondent cases (acting for an employer)

Our standard approach to pricing is to use an hourly fee rate.  For some cases we may be able to offer fixed-price options as well – we can tell you more about this when we have reviewed the claim against you and the case you have for defending the claim.

For 2024 our standard hourly fee rates for respondents are £360 – £405 + VAT per hour, depending on the seniority of the lawyer and the size of your organisation.

These fee rates cover all our work in handling a Tribunal case for you.  The total cost of defending any claim will depend on a range of factors, particularly how long it takes us and how complex the work is.  For this reason, we can only provide you with ‘average’ costs.  Our average range of prices for an employer who is defending a claim of unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal or wrongful dismissal (without any additional claims, such as discrimination), where the case goes all the way to a main hearing (trial), is as follows:

  • Simple case: £20,000 to £35,000 + VAT
  • Medium complexity case: £25,000 to £45,000 + VAT
  • High complexity case: £40,000 to £70,000 + VAT

The services and work covered by these ranges of average price are listed further down this page under Key Stages of a Case.  Please note that these are average costs and they apply to cases where the case goes all the way to a main hearing (trial).

In actual fact, only around 5% of the cases we are involved with get anywhere near a main hearing, because we are expert in helping our client to agree a settlement of the claim long before that for an amount of money that they are satisfied with.  So if your case concludes earlier than a main hearing (which is likely), then we’d expect your cost will be considerably lower than these average ranges.

Information on what adds to the complexity of a claim, and therefore its cost, can be found further down this page.

In addition to these costs, if the case gets as far as the main hearing you may choose* to be represented in the hearing by a solicitor or barrister.  If you do so, there will be Advocacy fees payable for this representation.  Advocacy costs range from £1,850 to £2,850 + VAT per full day (depending on seniority and qualifications of the advocate and amount of daily preparation work required before and after each day in the Tribunal).  If a barrister is representing you, you may also need to meet with them before the hearing to help them prepare for it (a case conference) which has an average range of cost of £700 to £2,500 + VAT, depending on how long the case conference takes and how much additional work the barrister needs to do in preparation for it.

*If you choose not to be represented by a solicitor or barrister we can still support you and provide mentoring and direction to allow you to represent yourself.

 

Factors affecting level of total cost

Every case is different, in terms of factual and legal complexity and also the amount of work required by us. The information we have given here can only be a broad view of the relevant cost.

Factors that could make a case more complex for both claimants and respondents include (amongst other things):

Disbursements & Expenses

Disbursements are costs relating to your case that we need to pay to third parties outside our firm on your behalf.  The only disbursements that we would expect a case of unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal or wrongful dismissal would potentially require would be the cost of a barrister (discussed above).  Very rarely, another type of expert might be required and we would discuss their cost with you at the time.  We will discuss any such disbursements with you at the relevant time.

Expenses are costs related to your case that we may need to charge you in addition to the other items stated above.  The only expenses that we would expect a case of unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal or wrongful dismissal would potentially require would be (1) the cost of travel (and any overnight accommodation if reasonably required) by one of our team or your barrister, usually to and from the Employment Tribunal; and (2) the cost of duplicating large numbers of documents and their copies for disclosure and use at the hearings.  We will discuss any such expenses with you at the relevant time.

Key stages of a case

The fees set out above cover all of our work for you in relation to the following key stages of an Employment Tribunal claim:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits of the case and the likely compensation if the claim were to succeed (this is likely to be reviewed throughout the case and therefore subject to change).
  • The pre-claim conciliation process with ACAS.
  • Preparing (for a claimant) the claim form which outlines the case and the nature of the dispute or (for a respondent) preparing the response/defence to a claim, including the document that sets out the factual detail of the claim and the legal basis for it.
  • Reviewing and advising on the claim and the employer’s response to it.
  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the case, including preparing or considering a schedule of loss, drafting ‘without prejudice’ correspondence and reviewing/amending/drafting any settlement agreement or ACAS COT3 agreement.
  • Preparing for (and attending) any Preliminary Hearing(s) that are required.
  • Exchanging documents (disclosure) with the other side, reviewing all these disclosure documents and preparing and agreeing which ones should go into the hearing ‘bundle’.
  • Taking witness statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
  • Reviewing and advising you on the other side’s witness statements.
  • Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or ‘cast list’ of relevant people.
  • Providing instructions (brief) to the barrister representing you (if any) and meeting with them before the main hearing.
  • Preparation for, and attendance at, the main hearing.
  • Correspondence with the other side in the case from start to finish in respect of a wide range of issues that may be required, including (amongst other things) any settlement discussions, disclosure of documents, exchange of witness statements, costs, applications relating to preliminary points that may need to be decided before the main hearing.
  • Receiving the Tribunal’s judgment and advising you on what it has decided.

The stages set out above are an indication of the likely stages of a case that goes all the way to the main hearing.  Keep in mind that only around 5% of our cases get as far as the main hearing because a settlement is reached beforehand.  If any of the stages listed above are not required, the total cost to you will obviously be less.

You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only take our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can be arranged according to your individual needs.

How long will the case take?

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your case depends on the stage at which your case is resolved.

If a settlement is reached during the pre-claim conciliation stage with ACAS then your case may take as little as 5-10 weeks to be resolved.

If your claim goes as far as a main hearing, your case is likely to take 6-18 months, although please note that the Tribunals are currently under-resourced and the case could take longer than that to complete. 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 case progresses.

The time that each of the separate stages listed above may take, and when they may be reached, differs greatly from case to case – so much so that we are unable to provide any useful predictions until your case is underway.  Often we are entirely dependent on factors entirely outside our control and our ability to predict, such as the availability and diary of the Employment Tribunals, the amount of documents to be disclosed and reviewed, the availability of witnesses and similar.

You should be aware that there are currently lengthy delays in the Employment Tribunal system.  Claims are taking on average a year to be listed for their main hearing.

Lawyers’ details

For information on the lawyers who may be involved in advising you, and their qualifications and level of experience, please click on their names below:

Luke Menzies

Anne-Marie Boyle

Tamsin James

Catherine Jackson

Each of our lawyers have many years of experience in practice as specialist employment lawyers (most of us over 25+ years).  We provide professional supervision and support to each other.

Status

The information on this page is an outline only and is not a firm estimate or quotation of the precise cost of a particular case.  All our work is done in accordance with our terms of business, which we will be happy to provide to you upon request.

Contact Menzies Law

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