Julia Furley and Laura Pearce handle the employment law matters within the firm. They work with the assistance of paralegals, but are ultimately responsible for all aspects of your case.
Employment Tribunal Proceedings (Bringing or Defending Claims for Unfair or Wrongful Dismissal)
The costs for each matter will depend upon the particular circumstances of the case and it is difficult to provide an estimate without knowing the detail of the case. We strive to work with our clients to achieve their goals and this means that we “tailor make” our service to each case.
Key stages
Employment Tribunal proceedings for unfair or wrongful dismissal typically involve the following stages:
- Taking our client’s (whether employer or employee) initial instructions, reviewing the available documents and advising our client on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation (involving ACAS) 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 fees may be reduced.
Complexity
Factors that could make a case more complex include:
- 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. relating to a claim of whistle blowing
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
Potential Costs
| Simple case | £3,000-£10,000 (excluding VAT) |
| Medium complexity case | £7,000-£14,000 (excluding VAT) |
| High complexity case | £15,000-£30,000 (excluding VAT) |
The above costs do not include the cost of a barrister or advocate attending a tribunal on your behalf. Barrister’s fees can vary from £750 to £2,000 per day. If you want your lawyer from JFH Law to also attend the tribunal with you, there will be an additional “day rate” cost of between £750 and £1000.
It should be noted that the above indicative figures are for the costs of going the whole way through the process, right up to the end of a full hearing (but excluding any appeal). In our experience, most cases settle before this. Where this occurs, the costs will likely be less than the range stated.
How long will my matter take?
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to us to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during Early Conciliation, your case is likely to take approximately 6 – 12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6 – 12 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.