OUR APPROACH TO COSTS – SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS
The work we do for individuals is unique and highly effective. As every client’s needs are different, it is difficult to provide an exact indicator for our costs. We can provide you with a realistic indication of what to expect on our table below.
For your reassurance, if you have a case or a need for our services, we will help you find an appropriate funding method or payment plan. We do not charge for fees on account. In fact, most of our fees are charged at the end of the matter or at an appropriate stage which is agreed with you. We are here to relieve your stresses, not increase them.
The table below is only an indicator of likely costs. We have many different low-risk funding options which can be offered depending on your circumstances. We can discuss these at your initial consultation.
Book yourself in for a consultation with one of our employment solicitors to better understand what we can do for you.
OUR PRICE GUIDE
| TYPE OF SERVICE | SUMMARY OF SERVICE | OUR FEES (+VAT) | DISBURSEMENT | TIMESCALE | FACTORS WHICH CAN INFLUENCE THESE FEES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial call – review and recommendation by support team | This is an initial call with the support team. They will request basic details, discuss with a legal adviser, confirm cost, facilitate an appointment and provide some provisional advice (if appropriate). | FREE | £0 | Immediate | None |
| First consultation with legal adviser including recommendations | This is a meeting with a qualified solicitor. There is no time limit on the length of meeting. Advice provided during the meeting will be recorded in an email or the client care letter. | £150 – £300 | £0 | Immediate | The fee will depend on the nature of the enquiry and complexity of issues being considered. Where appropriate, we may waive this fee. We do so at our complete discretion. |
| Consultation, review of contract and policies, strategy advice on contract of employment or other contractual dispute | This is a consultation, strategy advice only and confirmation of advice in writing. If further work is required, a quote will be provided by the legal adviser. | £500 – £1,000 | £500 – £1,000 for Barrister’s fees – only required for a very complex or serious matter | 2 weeks | This can vary depending on the complexity of the contract, policies or law involved. Costs can increase if a Barrister’s opinion is required although this should be reserved for complex, high value dispute. |
| Advice and guidance in relation to grievance, disciplinary, whistleblowing, sickness or other internal procedures |
The service gets under the skin of “what’s wrong”. It looks at what you want or need to move forward, and puts in place an individual strategy designed to protect health and income. It helps you have the confidence to tackle and, hopefully, resolve your workplace problems. If at the end of the internal process, an Employment Tribunal claim is required, you will be provided with client friendly options for funding options. |
£500 – £2,500 | £0 | 1 – 3 months | The fees and timescales vary depending on: your health; any sick leave needed facilitate your recover before tackling the issues head on; the complexity of the problem; and how proactive or effective your employer is at dealing with requests and internal disputes. The fees will also be measurable to the outcome achieved. |
| Exit strategy | This is our famous and fantastic exit strategy or exit planning service. The service gets under the skin of “what’s wrong” and what you want or need to move forward. It puts in place an individual strategy designed to protect health and income while encouraging you to face the future. At the appropriate time, we will endeavour to secure terms to a settlement agreement so avoiding an Employment Tribunal and facilitating a clean break for both parties. | £1,000 – £5,000 | £0 | 1 – 6 months |
The fees and timescales can vary depending on your health, need for sick leave to facilitate your recover before tackling the issues head on, the complexity of the problem we are dealing with and how proactive or effective your employer is at dealing with your internal dispute. For exit strategy work, the fees are outcome-dependant and measurable largely on the financial achievement. In many cases, the fees will be paid tax efficiently and in part by the employer. |
| Settlement agreement (agreed) | This service is on the assumption that all terms in the settlement agreement are agreed and do not need further work. We advise on the suitability of the settlement offered whilst ensuring you understand what each clause of the settlement agreement means. | £250 – £500 | £0 | 1 week |
An employer should contribute towards this work. Employer contribution often ranges from £250 – £500 plus VAT. For this work, we will cap our fees at the sum of money your employer is contributing towards the cost of the settlement agreement. If there is no contribution, we will charge you £250 plus VAT. |
| Settlement agreement (negotiated) |
Sometimes, an employer may offer a settlement which is too low for acceptance. We can come up with a strategy and negotiate improved terms on your behalf. Once terms are agreed, we will ensure you understand what each and every clause of the settlement agreement means whilst renegotiating on unreasonable or overly restrictive clauses. |
£250 – £1,500 | £0 | 1 – 2 months | Like the exit strategy service, the fees are largely dependent on the outcome and what we are able to achieve on your behalf. Whilst negotiating, we will also seek improvement to the employer’s contribution towards the legal fees. |
| Where an employment tribunal is necessary, assessment fee for suitability for no win / no fee agreement, legal expense insurance or advice in relation to existence of prospective employment tribunal claim | This service will include initial consultation, review of timeline and documentation with a view to identifying prospective employment tribunal claims, initial view on prospects and available funding options. | £350 – £1,000 | £500 – £750 – highly unusual | 1 – 2 weeks |
The cost of the assessment will depend on the complexity of the matter, the volume of paperwork for review, whether any research or other work is required to complete the assessment. Barrister’s advice will only be necessary for the highly complex or unusual claims or where circumstance justifies it. |
| Employment Tribunal claim |
Representation during an employment tribunal includes:
|
See below | See below | 1 – 12 months |
The cost and timescales can vary depending on the following factors:
|
| Basic and straightforward | Where the listing for the final employment tribunal hearing is 1 – 2 days. | £4,000 – £6,000 | £750 – £1,500 | Up to 8 months | Most people are funded by legal expense insurance or no win / no fee agreement so reducing your financial risk in advancing these proceedings. |
| Medium complexity | Where the listing for the final employment tribunal hearing is 3 – 4 days. | £6,000 – £12,000 | £2,500 – £5,000 | Up to 12 months | As above |
| High complexity | Where the listing for the final Employment Tribunal hearing is 5 – 10 days. | £12,000 – £20,000 | £6,000 – £12,000 | Up to 18 months | As above |
| Very high complexity or very long listing | Where the list for the final hearing is 11 – 20 days. | £20,000 – £35,000 | £12,500 – £20,000 | As above |
BEFORE YOU GO, A FEW THINGS TO NOTE…
- If you want to avoid the cost of an employment tribunal claim, try the exit strategy and settlement agreements services.
- The costs set out above for employment tribunal claims are based on unfair dismissal and breach of contract claims only. If additional claims are included such as discrimination, whistleblowing etc the fees may be higher.
- If your employment tribunal settles before the final hearing, unless you are funding by way of a no win / no fee agreement you or your insurer will only be charged for the work carried out up until settlement. This means the fees may be lower than quoted above.
- If you have an employment tribunal, please check if you have legal expense insurance via your union, household contents insurance, credit card or any other insurance policy. If you do have legal expense insurance, let us know immediately so that we can tell you how this works.
- A legal expense insurance policy will not fund settlement agreements and will only begin funding a claim to the Employment Tribunal either immediately before or once the claim has been submitted to the Employment Tribunal claim.
- If you have legal expense insurance, you have a legal right to nominate your preferred legal representative once the claim has been lodged with the employment tribunal. Some insurers will allow you to appoint us as legal representative before lodging a claim. We can help make sure this insurance is put in place.
- A legal expense insurer will only fund your employment tribunal claim if your prospects of success are 51% or more. This demonstrates the importance of making sure you take advice beforehand to ensure you have made your points in the best possible way.
- If you are funding your employment tribunal by way of a no win / no fee, the firm’s standard fee is 35% inclusive of VAT of the amount recovered by settlement or employment tribunal award.
- Before offering a no win / no fee agreement, we will charge an assessment fee to ensure the claim has 51% prospect of either settlement or success.
- If you are funded by a no win / no fee agreement and prospects of settlement or success fall below 51% at any point, we reserve the right to withdraw this funding method. Should this happen, we will present alternative funding options for consideration.
- A no win / no fee agreement only covers the firm’s fees and therefore does not include disbursements.
- Disbursements are external costs and include things such as Barrister’s fees, medical expert fees, travel, courier costs etc.
- Barrister’s fees are quoted in advance and determined by length of hearing and seniority of the Barrister appointed.
- All fees set out in the above table are exclusive of VAT. VAT is currently charged at the rate of 20% of the fees.