Employment Tribunal Claims

Needle advises on a wide range of employment issues to both businesses and individuals. The information set out below does however relate solely to the SRA Transparency Rule which require us to set out pricing information in relation to employment tribunal matters only.

Please do contact us if you require any information in relation to any other employment issues and how we cost them.

Our Team

Any employment tribunal work is carried out by Sharon Needle (our managing partner) and Naomi Duxbury-Tetley who together have over 35 years of experience. The team also includes a Trainee Solicitor and a paralegal.

Tribunal claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal

We are regularly instructed by both individuals and businesses who are faced with a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal. We need to point out that each such claim can be relatively unique and may in addition have other elements which may require advice outside the scope of this pricing, An example may be if the claimant is a shareholder and has the impact of bad leaver provisions to take into account as well. The range of factors may affect the total cost and the timescale for the matter to reach conclusion.

If you choose to instruct us, we will provide you with a tailored estimate of fees and other costs and likely timescales based on your specific circumstances. Such costs may vary depending on the complexity of the claim and the most appropriate recovery route.

Unless otherwise specified, the costs and disbursements set out below do not include Value Added Tax (VAT) which if applicable will be charged at the prevailing rate of VAT. The current rate of VAT is 20.

Indicative costs (which may vary depending on the many factors that can come into play in relation to these types of claims) for bringing and defending claims for unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal are as follows:

Simple case: £6,000-£10,000 (excluding VAT)

Medium complexity case: £10,000-£16,000 (excluding VAT)

High complexity case: £16,000-£40,000 (excluding VAT)

The hourly rates for employment tribunal work are dependent upon the seniority of the lawyers handling your case.

Our work on employment tribunal work is charged based on the following hourly rates:

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Please be aware that these indicative costs do not include either VAT or other costs (we call these disbursements).

We are obliged to charge you separately for disbursements and we will normally request monies on account to pay these disbursements once they have been identified.

Stages of an employment tribunal matter

The indicative costs above relate to the following key stages of a typical claim:

● Taking your initial instructions and reviewing the papers and correspondence that you provide us with and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)

● Entering into initial discussions with ACAS as it is possible a settlement could be reached

● Depending on whether you are a claimant or defendant, preparing a claim or response to a claim

● Continuing to explore settlement and continuing to negotiate settlement throughout the claim process

● Preparing or reviewing a schedule of loss (which sets out the details of losses claimed)

● Preparing for and attending a preliminary hearing

● Exchanging documents and preparing a bundle of documents for the hearing

● Preparation of witness statements

● Reviewing the other party’s witness statements and taking instructions from you

● Agreeing a chronology and list of issues

● Instructing counsel if necessary, preparing for the hearing and attending the final hearing.

The stages set out above are an indication of all the work that may be required if a case is not settled and a hearing is required. If the case is settled and some of stages are not required, the indicative fee may 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 discussed to suit your individual needs.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your case that are payable to third parties.

These may include- depending on your particular matter-:

● Counsel's fees which will depend on the seniority of the barrister and what you require from them such as initial advice or to attend a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

● Experts reports if required on any aspect of the case We will obtain a number of quotes for you in the case of counsel and experts so you can decide what level of support you require.

Factors that could make a case more complex:

● There is more than one Claimant or Respondent.

● 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, for example if a claimant has been dismissed after making a protected disclosure (blowing the whistle) or for a reason related to their membership of a trade union.

● Where there are allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

How long will your matter take to conclude?

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 2-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6-18 months or even longer depending on its complexity. 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.