Unfair and Wrongful Dismissal Claims in the Employment Tribunal

This document details the pricing guidance for employment matters resulting when a business chooses to defend a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal.

Ogletree Deakins advise employers of all sizes and across many industries on a broad range of employment issues, including unfair and wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal.  This document is designed to provide more information, as required by the SRA Transparency Rules, in relation to unfair and wrongful dismissal claims in the Employment Tribunal.

Claims that we are instructed on will usually fall into the below three categories, with each category having a pricing range.  These ranges will depend on the level of service (e.g. time allotted for working the matter), geographical location and the experience of team required.

Our pricing categories for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

Simple case: £10,000 – £20,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

Medium complexity case: £15,000 – £25,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

High complexity case: £20,000 – £30,000 or more (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

These set ranges are based on hourly rates of between £125 and £450.  The specific hourly rates will depend on a number of factors including the complexity of the matter, which will determine the appropriate level of lawyer(s) required and the geographical location of the lawyer(s) handling the matter.

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• 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. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,000 – £3,000 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 1 – 21 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are estimated between £500 – £5,000 per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

Key stages

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

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely 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;
• 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 fee will 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 arranged on your individual needs.

How long will my 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, your case is likely to take 4 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 12 – 52 weeks. 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.

The Team

If you instruct us, we will provide you with the names of individual lawyers who will be advising on you matter, including the partner responsible for overall supervision.  You can find information on each of our lawyer at https://www.ogletreedeakins.co.uk/our-people.

For a detailed quote or to discuss instructing us, please contact Simon McMenemy, UK Managing Partner on 44 (0)207 822 7620 or via email at simon.mcmenemy@ogletree.com.