Employment Law Pricing

Hourly rates

Our costs and are generally charged by reference to the time spent by the solicitor(s) dealing with your claim. Profiles of our specialist employment lawyers and paralegals are on our website and can be viewed here. Our hourly rates vary by location and experience and, as at September 2023, are:

Partners£350 – £425 (excluding VAT) per hour
Solicitors/Associates£200 – £350 (excluding VAT) per hour
Legal executive£175 – £350 (excluding VAT) per hour
Trainee£175 – £200 (excluding VAT) per hour
Administrator/Paralegal£135 – £195 (excluding VAT) per hour

We require payment for the initial meeting and then money on account if you decide to proceed. Our policy is then to bill all work in progress at the end of each calendar month and to maintain a float of money for continuing work. You can reduce the time we spend on your case by sending any relevant documents to us in advance together with a short description of the problem. We always like to see a copy of your employment contract if you have one. You will be charged for pre-reading any material in advance of the initial meeting.

Fees for Tribunal Claims

Many of the cases we handle are resolved to our clients’ satisfaction without the need for a full hearing. However, when a hearing is required we aim to keep our costs proportionate to the potential financial compensation available.

If your matter were to proceed to an Employment Tribunal, as a very general guide, estimated costs, including representation, would be in the following ranges:

  • £15,000 to £25,000 plus VAT for a one-day hearing with three witnesses
  • £20,000 to £40,000 plus VAT for a two-day hearing with four witnesses.
  • £40,000 to £60,000 plus VAT for a three-day hearing with four witnesses.
  • £80,000 to £140,000 plus VAT for a seven-day hearing with eight witnesses.

It would be reasonable to add at least an additional £20-30,000 for each additional hearing day, as each additional day indicates more paperwork, more complexity, additional barrister’s fees and court attendance fees.

Other factors can mean a particular case will incur higher fees, for example numerous documents, complexity of legal issues, numerous witnesses, or for example higher fees would also be incurred if you wanted to instruct a particularly senior barrister.

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 (barristers) fees estimated between £2,000 to £40,000 for preparation including the first day in tribunal and then £600 to £6,000 per day for each additional day at the Tribunal hearing (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing.

In addition (with your agreement) we may ask a barrister to review your case and advise in conference and or review witness statements. The cost of a conference would be in the range of £1,500 to £4,000 depending on the amount of preparation required at that stage.

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 claim or response
  • 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
  • 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 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 4-18 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. It should also be borne in mind that there are some periods when Employment Tribunals takes longer in dealing with cases because of the availability of Judges and other staff. A complex multi day case may take even longer than 18 months.