Employment Tribunal Price Transparency
Employment tribunal claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal
We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to publish information on the prices we charge for certain services. Those services include employment tribunal claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal where we act for members of the public and for business.
The information on this page does not apply to you or your organisation where you have agreed a different charging arrangement with us. If you have legal expenses insurance, we are able to investigate whether your case can be funded in whole or in part, in line with the terms of your policy.
Our standard hourly rates for employment tribunal claims are set out below. All stated prices are exclusive of VAT.
Director/ Principal £475
Employment Solicitor £250-£325
Employment tribunal claims are dealt with by our employment law department. We will assign your case to a member of our employment team based on the level of skill and experience required and our capacity. We make our pricing structure, and our estimate of costs clear at the outset of each case and, where appropriate, keep that estimate under review.
The amount of work we do (and therefore our costs) in an employment tribunal claim will depend on the type of claim and the circumstances of the case. An important factor is whether there is a element to the claim such as discrimination or whistleblowing because these types of additional factors will usually increase the complexity of the case and the number of witnesses who may be required. Another factor that impacts on the likely legal costs is the length of the final hearing, which is determined by the employment tribunal, based on the complexity of the case and the number of witnesses that the case will involve.
Depending on complexity, it can take between from three months and eighteen months (or longer) to prepare an unfair/wrongful dismissal case for a final hearing. Some cases require several preliminary hearings during the months leading up to a final hearing. The tribunal service has been significantly impacted on account of the pandemic, and we have experienced many delays in the processing and progressing of claims. We are unable to provide exact time estimates at present.
A hearing for a straightforward claim such as unpaid salary or wrongful dismissal can usually be heard by an employment tribunal within one day. Unfair dismissal hearings often last between two and five days. Cases involving more complicated claims such as discrimination and whistleblowing, or where there are many witnesses, can take three weeks or longer to be heard.
As a very rough guide, an estimate of our costs in an employment tribunal claim may be calculated by multiplying the anticipated length of the hearing (in days) by £8,000 plus VAT and disbursements (expenses). For example, a rough cost estimate for us to prepare and represent a client in a case with an anticipated hearing length of four days would be £32,000 plus VAT (4 x 8,000). This would typically include:
time we spend liaising with you about the case;
settlement discussions including at the pre-conciliation stage, with ACAS
dealing with disclosure, which is the identification and assessment of documents relevant to the claim;
interviewing witnesses and preparing witness statements;
preparing and photocopying hearing bundles;
preparing for and attending hearings on your behalf (or instructing a barrister to do so). These may be preliminary hearings, final hearings or remedy hearings as determined by the tribunal
Disbursements (expenses) will include the use of counsel, where appropriate. Counsel’s fees are negotiated on your behalf and agreed with you. Counsel’s fees vary with their relevant seniority and experience.
These costs do not include the cost of challenging or appealing against the employment tribunal’s decisions. Of course, the rule of thumb referred to above is only very approximate and cannot take account of the specific circumstances of the case.