Employment tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (pricing for employers)

Introduction

The purpose of our pricing overview is to explain the pricing options available to you. AfterAthena is committed to transparency, being efficient in handling your work and providing you with what to

expect, without fear of unpleasant surprises.

It is our goal to provide you with exceptional quality work and the personal attention you would expect.

Our employment law team has many years of experience in dealing with all aspects of employment tribunals for employers. We have a team of lawyers who may work with you in defending a Tribunal claim. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by a partner or senior member of the team – for more information on our employment law team, please click here.

Our fees

Our fees for defending claims brought against your business for unfair and wrongful dismissal are based on three bands, which we will be happy to discuss this with you.

We will advise you of the funding options available to you, for example, using any commercial legal expenses insurance your business is covered by.

Every case is different; there are different issues and level of complexity in each case.   A case can be heard over one day but depending on the issues. Amount of evidence and complexity of legal issues in the case; a case can be heard over a week or longer. Shorter simple cases will naturally be less expensive than longer more complex cases. 

All costs and fees are subject to VAT at the current rate 20%.

Item	Estimated Range of Costs	VAT	Total
Simple case defined as: Expected to be a one day hearing, claim of unfair dismissal or breach of contract or unlawful deduction of wages, disclosure of no more than 250 pages and no more than 2-3 witnesses	Our fees £8,000 – £12,000   Barristers fees £1,500 – £2,500 (dependent on seniority)	£1,600 – £2,400     £300 – £500	£9,600 – £14,400     £1,800 – £3,000
Medium complex case defined as: usually a case of unfair dismissal but with an extra claim of discrimination bolted on with slightly more disclosure documents and up to 5 witnesses and assuming a 2-3 day	Our fees £10,000 – £20,000   Barristers Fees: £1,500 – £2,500 for 1st day plus £750 – £1,250 for each additional day (dependent on seniority)	£2,000 – £4,000       £300 – £500 for 1st day plus £150 – £250 for each additional day	£12,000 – £24,000       £1,800 – £3,000 for 1st day plus £900 – £1,500 for each additional day
High complex case defined as: assuming a 4+ day hearing, multiple claims being pursued, or multiple parties, complex issues of discrimination or trade union law, multiple witnesses and/or significant documentation/disclosure	Our fees £15,000 – £40,000   Barristers Fees:  £2,500 – £5,000 for 1st day plus £750 – £1,250 for each additional day (dependent on seniority)	£3,000 – £8,000     £500 – £1,000 for 1st day plus £150 – £250 for each additional day	£18,000 – £48,000     £3,000 – £6000 for 1st day plus £900 – £1,500 for each additional day

We charge based on an hourly rate which varies depending on the member of staff dealing with your matter. Currently our lowest hourly rate is £200 plus VAT and c our highest hourly rate is £350 plus VAT. The seniority of the members of staff dealing with your case will depend on its complexity. We will discuss this with you when you instruct us. Hourly rates are reviewed every April.

The above information on costs is an estimate of our charges and they are not fixed fees.   We assess each case on its own facts and will give a concise estimate for work to be carried out on your behalf at the outset of each matter.   Costs information provided here is for guidance purposes only and is not indicative of costs in all similar claims before an Employment Tribunal which depends on the facts of the case, nor does it create any binding costs estimate on the firm.

Costs will vary depending on the details of each case, and once we assess your case, we provide you with more concise estimates for work. You may have legal expenses insurance cover for the costs of an Employment Tribunal claim and where this is the case, we will discuss funding arrangements with you.

If your claim were to be settled at any time during the proceedings, this would affect the overall cost to you.

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)
• 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
• Preparing for the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel

The work that is not included in our fee:

• Pre action negotiation with Employee
• ACAS Early Conciliation
• Remedy Hearing (if not dealt with in the Final Hearing)
• Interim applications/further Preliminary Hearings which arise during the course of the claim either made by you or the Employee or ordered by the Employment Tribunal
• Re-listing of hearing and work related to a new hearing if a final hearing is postponed by the Employment Tribunal, you or the Employee
• Advising on or dealing with an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (made by you or the Employee)
• Attendance at hearings where Counsel is also instructed
• A second hearing if the first hearing is not completed within the time given by the Tribunal when the parties have to return to the Tribunal to complete the hearing
• Discrimination claims or claims other than unfair dismissal/wrongful dismissal.

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 and agreed in advance based on your individual needs.

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 in the table above (depending on the experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

Note that we do require payments on account  in anticipation of disbursements to be incurred (including counsel fees). We usually expect client’s new to the firm to make an initial payment on account  of costs for the initial work to be undertaken.

Exclusions and Factors Which May Make a Case More Complex

• Multiple day hearings (more than one day)
• Multiple witnesses
• Applications made by either party during the course of the claim e.g. an application to strike out, an application for costs or application for adjournment of a hearing
• Hearing is postponed and re-listed at the request of you, the other party or by the Employment Tribunal
• Multiple claims for example: an unfair dismissal, sex/race or disability discrimination or breach of contract all brought at the same time
• The hearing is not completed within the timeframe given by the Employment Tribunal and the parties have to return to the Tribunal for a further hearing
• Barristers fees for advice or representation in the Employment Tribunal will be in addition to our fees.

Timescales

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 0-6 weeks.

If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take in the region of 12-18 months. This is just an estimate and is dependent on the Employment Tribunal that the case is being administered by, the progression of the case, and the number of days the case is listed for. We will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.