Employment law is one of the most rapidly changing areas of English law, due in great part to the impact of European legislation.  Sadly, common sense can no longer always be relied upon as a reliable guide to good practice.

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Employers are often required to follow strict practices and procedures.  If they do not, this can give rise to claims.

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We are here to provide you with practical and cost effective means of protecting your rights, and resolving possible claims.

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Our expertise includes:
 

• Age discrimination

• Breach of contract claims

• Contracts of employment

• Disability discrimination

• Disciplinary procedures

• Equal opportunities policies

• Grievance procedures

• Harassment complaints

• Health & safety policies

• Maternity rights

• Part-time worker rights

• Paternity rights

• Redundancy

• Settlement agreements

• Sex discrimination

• Statutory statements of particulars of employment

• Unfair dismissal claims

• Wrongful dismissal

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Our fees

Some cases are inevitably more straightforward than others.  So that our charges fairly reflect the complexity of a matter, we charge according to the time needed to be spent by our professional staff to deal with  each matter. 

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Our current hourly rates are:

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• £310 + VAT for partners

• £275 + VAT for senior solicitors

• £250 + VAT for solicitors

 

Our employment advice is provided by partner and head of department John Knowles, and/or partner Michael Thomas. John has been advising on employment law work since 1982 and Michael joined the firm in 2021.

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VAT

Where we refer to VAT above or below, this is VAT at the prevailing rate - currently 20%.

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Typical fees for cases proceeding to a contested final hearing

The vast majority of case settle before a final hearing - and often before any proceedings at all.  Sometimes all that is needed is a brief discussion to advise you of your rights and enable you to resolve matters for yourself.

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Nonetheless, our professional regulations require us to publish estimates of our charges for those few cases that do proceed to a full final hearing.  Typical fees in such cases are as follows:

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• Simple cases:  £15,000 -£20,000 + VAT

• Medium complexity cases:  £20,000 - £35,000 + VAT

• High complexity cases:  £35,000 - £70,000 + VAT

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Factors that could make a case more complex include the following:

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• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim

• Bringing a claim against litigants in person

• Making or defending a costs application

• Complex issues such as whether you are subject to a disability (if this is not agreed by the parties)

• The number of witnesses and documents

• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

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The above figures do not include our attendance at the final tribunal hearing.  Normally we will instruct counsel to represent you, and in simple cases our attendance in addition is unlikely to be required.  In medium or higher complexity case, we will normally need to attend with counsel.  Our fees for such attendance are likely to be around £3,000 to £3,500 + VAT per day. Generally, we would allow 1-10 days depending on the complexity of the case and the number of witnesses to be cross examined.

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Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. The most likely disbursement we will incur will be fees for counsel for attending a final hearing.  Counsel generally charge daily rates of £1,250 to £2,750 + VAT.  Their fee for the first day of the hearing - their brief fee - is usually higher to include their time spent on advance  preparation.

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Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

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• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and any likely compensation (this will obviously have to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)

• Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;

• Drafting your formal claim and considering your employer's response

• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process

• Preparing your schedule of loss

• Preparing for and attending a telephone case management conference

• Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents

• Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses

• Reviewing and agreeing a bundle of documents for the final hearing

• Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements

• Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or case list

• Preparation and attendance at final hearing, including instructions to counsel

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How long will a matter take?

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, a case is likely to take 2 - 4 months. If the claim proceeds to a final hearing, it is likely to take 9 - 15 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.