The Solicitors Regulatory Authority, the body which regulates law firms, require us to provide you with information on our costs in relation to certain legal services which we provide. This is so that you have the information you need to make an informed choice of legal service provider, and an understanding as to what the total cost of that service may be.
One such service is the provision of advice and representation to either
or
For any other employment-related matter please contact Justin Kelly for a no obligation initial discussion.
Each claim or defence we deal with is unique albeit each has common elements and stages of the proceedings. The exact costs will be largely dependent upon a number of factors such as (but not limited to);
We will, at an early stage (usually at an initial meeting) particularly in the case of Claimants, discuss whether there are any funding options available e.g;
In this guide we set out an average range of costs for Low to High complexity cases.
We use the following terms in this guide:
| Form ET1 | The claim form outlining the case and the nature of the dispute |
| Form ET3 | The response form when a claim has been made |
| Particulars of claim | The Document that sets out the factual detail of a claim, and the legal basis for it. |
| Interlocutory applications | A provisional decision given during the course of a legal action usually involving a hearing |
| Simple Case | £4000 – £6000 plus VAT charges at 20% (£4800 – £720 including VAT) plus disbursements*
This includes: · initial meeting(s), · Gathering information and documentation, · preparing ET1 and Particulars of Claim or ET3, · preparing lists of documents you propose to rely upon, · meeting witnesses and preparing statements and review of opponents statements where appropriate, · preparing summary of the case if requested by the tribunal and · instructing a barrister to attend the tribunal on your behalf and usually initial 1-2 hour attendance at the tribunal on the day of hearing |
| Medium Complexity Case | £6000 – £12000 plus VAT charged at 20% (£7200 – £14400 including VAT) plus disbursements *
· This includes · initial meeting(s), · Gathering information and documentation, · preparing ET1 and Particulars of Claim or ET3, · preparing lists of documents you propose to rely upon, · meeting witnesses and preparing statements and review of opponents statements where appropriate, · preparing summary of the case and if requested by the tribunal statement of issues for the tribunal to consider and · instructing a barrister to attend the tribunal on your behalf and usually initial 1-2 hour attendance at the tribunal on the day of hearing |
| High Complexity Case | £12000 – £22000 plus VAT charged at 20% (£14400 – £26400 including VAT) plus disbursements *
This includes: · initial meeting(s), · Gathering information and documentation, · preparing ET1 and Particulars of Claim or ET3, · preparing lists of documents you propose to rely upon, · meeting witnesses and preparing statements and review of opponents statements where appropriate, · preparing summary of the case and if requested by the tribunal statement of issues for the tribunal to consider and · instructing a barrister to attend the tribunal on your behalf and usually initial 1-2 hour attendance at the tribunal on the day of hearing |
We will seek to advise you as early as possible in the claim or defence process whether we believe your claim/defence will be considered low, medium or high complexity. This will often be apparent from the claim form (if defending) or from the facts presented by a claimant at an initial meeting.
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as barristers (counsels) fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. At present there are no fees payable to the Employment Tribunals for commencing claims although we understand this is under review by the government.
Counsel’s fees to deal with a final hearing are estimated between £1000 plus vat to £2000 plus vat (at 20%) per day (depending on experience of the advocate) (including preparation).
We will undertake an electronic identify check on you to comply with SRA rules. This will be in the region of £20.00.
At all stages we would seek to advise you as to the merits in seeking to settle the claim without proceeding to a full hearing and would undertake a costs/benefit analysis to seek to ensure that it is beneficial from a financial perspective to continue to defend or pursue a claim.
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 4-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6-12 months. 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.