Employment Law

 Employment Law

The firm can offer very competitive employment advice to both employers and employees and also has experience of representing both at Employment Tribunals.

For employees we can offer advice on all aspects of your employment, including the terms of employment, redundancy packages, settlement agreements, TUPE transfers and unfair and wrongful dismissals.

For employers we are also highly experienced in providing all aspects of employment law advice, ranging from providing employment contracts, polices and staff handbooks to guiding you through the complexities of redundancies and the transfer of employees under the TUPE Regulations when buying and selling a business. We are also specialists in providing ongoing Human Resource support and advice at very affordable prices.

Prior to paying for legal advice for employment tribunal claims you should first check to see if you have legal expenses cover with your household insurance or bank accounts, which may meet your legal costs in certain circumstances.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

Simple case: £3,000.00 to £4,000.00 (excluding VAT)

Medium complexity case: £4,000.00 to £7,000.00 (excluding VAT)

High complexity case: £7,000.00 to £12,000.00

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• 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 dismissal.
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For attendance at an employment tribunal there will be an additional charge of £200.00 per hour (excluding VAT).  Generally, we would allow one to five days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

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

Counsel's fees estimated between £1,000.00 to £1,500.00 (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

Key stages

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 (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
• Preparing a claim or response.
• Reviewing and advising on claim or response from the other party.
• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
• Preparing or considering 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, a chronology and/or cast list.
• Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

The stages set out above are an indication and if  some of the stages 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. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.

How long will my matter take?

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 between 12 to 15 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take up to 52 weeks. 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.

Whether you are an employee or an employer and require advice either email or call Steve Frake to discuss your matter.