LEGAL FEES IN EMPLOYMENT LAW CASES

If you're facing an employment law case, it's important to consider the legal fees and disbursements involved. In this article, we highlight key points to help you understand the costs of presenting or defending a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Legal Fees cover all the work carried out by your solicitor from the beginning to the end of your case. For an unfair or wrongful dismissal claim, the standard legal fee is between £4,000 and £6,000 plus VAT. However, if your case is complex, our fees may increase, and we'll inform you in advance. Our hourly rate for this type of case ranges from £350 to £400 plus VAT, depending on the experience and qualifications of your solicitor.

Disbursements are costs related to your case paid to third parties, including Counsel's fees, which average between £2,000 and £4,000 per day (depending on the advocate's experience) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation). We'll take care of paying the disbursements on your behalf.

The stages involved in presenting or defending a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal can vary depending on the circumstances.

Some of the key stages include taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising on merits and likely compensation, undertaking regulatory checks, entering into pre-claim conciliation where it's mandatory, preparing claim or response, exploring settlement and negotiating 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 on their content with witnesses, preparing bundle of documents, reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements, agreeing on a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list, preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel, reporting to you on the conclusion of the matter, and closing your file.

The time 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 2-4 weeks.

If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 4-6 months.

Factors that can make your case more complex and increase your legal fees and disbursements include defending claims brought by litigants in person, making or defending a costs application, complex preliminary issues, the number of witnesses and documents, an automatic unfair dismissal claim (e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer), and allegations of discrimination linked to the dismissal. If any of these factors arise, we'll notify you and discuss any increase in our legal fees or disbursements.

In conclusion, if you have questions about our services and fees or need legal advice for an employment law case, please contact us at info@templecorporate.com.