Key Contact
We act for a variety of employers and employees alike, and provide the full complement of contentious and non-contentious services in this area.
We routinely advise and represent company directors and senior City executives on pre- and post-employment issues and contractual entitlements arising from their service agreements with a particular focus on post-termination restrictions and the right to receive “discretionary” payments.
We draft contracts and employee handbooks and advise employers and their HR managers on best practise and claims avoidance. We also guide our clients through the formalities of disciplinary and grievance procedures and managing redundancies and dismissals.
Once an employment relationship has come to an end, we negotiate exit packages and draft compromise agreements for employers and employees.
We also advise fellow professionals with regard to employment issues, and especially those arising in the insolvency context and the sale and transfer of assets by insolvency practitioners.
When our clients’ interests require protection or if negotiations ultimately fail to resolve a dispute, there is recourse to the Courts and the Employment Tribunals. We are well equipped to represent your interests in either forum.
Range of Costs For Employment Law
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for wrongful or unfair dismissal are approximately as follows:
Simple case: upwards of £15,000 (excluding VAT)
Medium complexity case: upwards of £35,000 (excluding VAT)
High complexity case: upwards of £75,000 (excluding VAT)
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 involved and length of trial
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
- Any allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
- The involvement of third parties such as experts or interpreters
The number of days required for attending a Tribunal Hearing will vary depending on the complexity of your case, the number of witnesses and the amount of documents involved.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees, Counsel’s fees and experts. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
It may become necessary to involve Counsel for providing opinions, attending hearings and drafting key documents. Counsel’s fees will vary depending on factors such as the extent of work involved and Counsel’s seniority.
Funding Options
There are a number of potential means for funding your claim aside from you doing so personally. These include funding under an insurance policy as well as conditional fee arrangements and damages based agreements. We can check if these options are available to you at your first appointment with us.
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 mandatory pre-claim conciliation to explore whether a settlement can be reached
- Preparing claim or response including instructing Counsel to assist if required
- Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- preparing or considering a schedule of loss
- Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing with or sometimes without Counsel
- 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
- Dealing with any appeals
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above 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 4 – 6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9-18 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.