We have set out below the issues you may need to consider in relation to Legal fees and disbursements for presenting or defending a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Our Legal fees cover the work required to handle your case from instruction to conclusion.

Legal fees

Legal Fees are the amount you will be required to pay for all the work performed by us in actioning your instructions from commencement of your case to conclusion.

This page sets out the likely costs if an employee were to bring a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal against you. Unfortunately, claims are sometimes brought by employees. These can often be time consuming and costly. This guide sets out some basic information about wrongful and unfair dismissal claims as well as some of the likely costs you will incur in defending a claim.

Our key recommendation is that you contact us before you dismiss an employee. We can this assist you in trying to minimise the risk of a claim being brought. If that is not possible, then speak to us as soon as you believe that a claim may be brought by an employee. This will allow us to work with you to reduce the chances of a claim being brought/ lodged, thereby saving you money in the long run.

Unfair dismissal claims vary in complexity depending on the background facts and the number of documents and/ or emails which need to be reviewed. An unfair dismissal claim relates solely to the termination of employment. Generally, an employee needs to have two years’ service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal although there are some exceptions which we will be happy to explain to you.

Wrongful dismissals are rarely brought on their own as they principally relate to whether an employee’s notice period has been paid. We would expect our costs for drafting the defence for a wrongful dismissal claim to be between £3-1,000 and £4,000 plus VAT assuming that there is not a complicated factual matrix behind the dismissal or you wish to lodge a counterclaim. Your defence is hard to amend later and the most important part of your case; like the foundations of a building.

The value and complexity of the matter alongside the stage at which the matter is resolved are factors that must be taken into account to confirm the fees in accordance with this scale.

If your matter becomes complex (see below) our fees may increase further and we will notify you in advance of any increased costs.

Should your instructions require us to take your matter out of the fixed fee rate (see below for what our fixed fee covers) we will charge an hourly rate which will depend on the experience and qualification of the case handler as follows: –

Jacqueline Kendal	Partner, Barrister and Department Head	£325 plus VAT per hour (£360 Inc. VAT)	01256 854626
Gill Brown	Legal Director	£300 plus VAT per hour	01256 854605
Sarah Filsell	Associate	£220 plus VAT per hours	01256 854658

 

The pricing below is intended to act as a guide so that you can understand the likely costs involved in defending a claim for unfair dismissal which ends up at a final hearing.

As each case is different and you should speak with us so that we can give you a more accurate quote. The costs which are indicated below will vary depending on our level of involvement with your matter.

Straightforward case all the way through to final hearing:	£12,000 – £15,000 + VAT
A case with some complicated facts:	£18,000 – £22,000 + VAT
A highly complicated case:	From £22,000 + VAT

 

• External counsel would be charged separately or if you would like a member of our team to attend the hearing, then there would be an additional charge of between £1,000 and £1,250 plus VAT per day..

If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.

Our average fee assume that:

• The matter is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
• All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.
• No other applications are needed and no other heads of claim are raised.

Disbursements and other costs

Disbursements are other expenses, for example, court fees, photocopying or bundles fees..

For employment claims these will also typically be Counsel’s fees to provide advice or represent you at a hearing. The need for and selection Counsel will be discussed with you and Counsel will be instructed only after their fees are agreed with you and you have transferred the money to cover costs to our client account.

The fees of Counsel also known as a barrister vary depending on the experience of the advocate. If Counsel is required to be instructed a quotation for their services will be obtained from them and discussed with your before they are instructed to ensure you are fully aware of the fees that will be charged.

In our experience, the initial fee for a barrister and the first day of the hearing (known as the brief fee) will be in the region of £1,000 – £3,000 plus VAT  Each subsequent day would be an additional £500 – £1,500 plus VAT .

If you want a very experienced barrister, then the cost is likely to be more.

You may also incur additional charges such as travel costs for us to attend meetings and hearings.

You will also need to pay the costs of printing, photocopying and storage which will not exceed £80 plus VAT (£96 Inc. VAT).

Stages of the Process

The precise stages involved in unfair or wrong dismissal claims vary according to the circumstances. The fees which we have set out above cover all the work in relation to the key stages of a claim. They include: –

• taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely costs (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change);
• undertaking regulatory checks
• entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
• reviewing and advising on the claim from the other party;
• preparing the response to the claim;
• exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;
• preparing or responding to a schedule of loss;
• preparing for (and attending) a preliminary hearing (if required);
• exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;
• taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;
• preparing a bundle of documents;
• reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
• agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list, if required; and
• preparation for the final hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

Obviously, if you reach a settlement before the final hearing or some of the stages are not needed, then the fee may be reduced. Equally, fees may increase due to unexpected circumstances or additional stages, if this is likely to happen then we would discuss this with you.

How long will my case 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. We always aim to settle a cause as early as possible in order to keep your legal costs down and ensure the most positive outcome.

 

If you settle during ACAS early conciliation, it is likely to take between two and six weeks from the date on which you commence the conciliation.

However, if the matter does not settle then the tribunal will be in charge of how long the matter will take and will set directions for trial.

If you end up at a full hearing, then in our experience the final hearing could be between five and nine months from the date that the employee’s claim, depending on the length of hearing and the availability of judges. You may then have to wait for a decision if the tribunal needs more time to consider the evidence and give a reserved judgment.

We should be able to give you a more accurate timescale when we discuss your case with you. Different tribunal systems have different judicial availability.

As you can see, there is a lot to think about when considering defending a claim for unfair dismissal. We highly recommend that you ring one of our excellent employment lawyers to discuss the case, its merits and the likely costs.

Factors that could make a case more complex

The following factors may make your case more complex and impact on your legal fees and disbursements: –

• a long history of events which lead to the dismissal;
• a claim of constructive unfair dismissal;
• the number of witnesses and documents;
• the number of days which the hearing is listed for;
• allegations of discrimination or harassment/ bullying which are linked to dismissal;
• making or defending a cost application;
• if you wanted a conference with counsel or meetings with witnesses;
• if the claim is for automatically unfair dismissal e.g. if the employee was dismissed after blowing the whistle; and
• if there are significant preliminary issues which have to be dealt with such as determining whether the claimant is disabled etc or defending applications for a deposit or strike out order.

Should any of these factors occur we will notify you and discuss with you any increase in our legal fees or disbursements.

Our Employment law team

Jacqueline Kendal is the Partner with overall supervision of our Employment Law Team. She qualified as a barrister in 2004 and has an impressive track record where she has defended employer clients in employee claims and handling contractual disputes on behalf of employers and senior executives. She has represented clients in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal as well as the High Court, County Court and has appeared in the Court of Appeal.

Gill Brown is a Legal Director and qualified Solicitor. Gill qualified in 1996 and is a highly experienced solicitor and a member of the Employment Lawyer’s Association, she specialises in pursuing and defending employment claims and all areas of Employment Law.

Sarah Filsell is an Associate Solicitor. Sarah qualified in 2020 and is a member of the Employment Lawyer’s Association. Sarah has experience in advising clients on settlement agreements, drafting contracts and handbooks, and advising on Employment Tribunal litigation.

You can find out more about our Employment team here: meet the team

Questions

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please contact us on 01256 460830 or email us at [email protected]