Our Charges – Employment (for employees)

Hourly rates

Our hourly rates for employment work range from £145 to £300 plus VAT (£174 to £360 in total), based on the level of qualification and experience.

We will provide you with a fee estimate or a fixed fee depending on the type of work to be undertaken. Your work will be allocated to the most cost effective team member with the appropriate experience.

Employment Tribunal Claims

Our charges for representing clients with a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal depend on the complexity and nature of the claims and the conduct of the ex-employer and their representatives.  In our experience the likely costs will be as follows:

• Simple case: £10,000 – £15,000 plus VAT (£12,000 – £18,000 in total)
• Medium complexity case: £15,000 – £30,000 plus VAT (£18,000 – £36,000 in total)
• High complexity case: £30,000 – £50,000 plus VAT (£36,000 – £66,000 in total)

Factors which could make claims more complex include:

• Where a lengthy and complex disciplinary process has been conducted
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. whistle-blowing allegation
• Where allegations of discrimination are linked to the dismissal
• Where preliminary issues need to be determined such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties) or issues around employment status
• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims, to vary case management orders, to provide further and better particulars or to attend preliminary hearings
• The number of witnesses and documents
• The number of days listed for the final hearing
• Making or defending a cost application
• Where cases are defended by litigants in person i.e. without legal representation

Other funding methods

Before commencing work we will ask you to check your household insurance policy. If it includes Legal Expenses Cover it may cover your costs, although you may be required to use the insurance company’s panel solicitors.

You may also be able to obtain legal representation if you are a member of a trade union.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf.

We usually instruct Barristers to conduct an Employment Tribunal hearing. Barristers fees are between £1,200 to £2,000 plus VAT per day (£1,440 to £2,400 in total), (depending on experience) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

Key Stages – what will Raworths do for you?

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 which could be recovered (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation to explore whether a settlement can be reached
• Preparing the application and filing this with the Employment Tribunal
• Exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process
• Preparing 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 bundle of documents
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
• Agreeing a list of issues and a chronology
• Preparation for Final Hearing, including instructions to the Barrister.

When we instruct a Barrister we do not normally attend the Employment Tribunal hearing.

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 only have our advice in relation to some of the stages.

Timescales

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

• If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 2-6 weeks
• If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 4-12 months

This is just an estimate and we will give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

We will provide estimates for other types of Employment Tribunal claims after taking your initial instructions.

It would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur other costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

Our Team

The Employment Unit is led by Sally Togher and the team comprises Liz Pollock, Harjeet Nangla and Harry Brown.  Click on their names or here to view their individuals profiles.