Funding your employment claim

Damage Based Agreements (DBA)

We are one of the only employment law firms in the UK to offer Damage Based Agreements (DBA) for all types of claimant employment cases.

What is a DBA?

A ‘DBA’ is an arrangement whereby the payment of our fees depends upon the success of the claim. This means that if the case is won or settlement terms are agreed, we would be paid by taking a percentage of the compensation that you are awarded, or in the event of reinstatement, a pre-agreed fee. An employment DBA is sometimes referred to as a “no win, no fee” agreement, meaning that we are sharing the risk of your litigation with you, providing that you adhere to the terms of our agreement. Please note: before deciding whether to proceed with a ‘DBA’ arrangement, we offer a free initial case assessment in the region of 10-15 minutes.

Other DBA fees

Other fees can be referred to as ‘disbursements’. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as barristers’ fees. We would instruct a barrister to represent you at any hearings. Barristers’ fees can vary significantly depending on the experience of the instructed barrister and the complexity of your case. We would always ask you to pay money on account for disbursements before we incur them, which is our firm policy. This is something you can discuss with one of our employment solicitors, as they’ll be able to explain more about how the agreement works.

If a DBA is not right for you, we can offer an alternative “fixed fee” option should you wish to fund your claim this way.

Our fixed cost is £300 plus VAT for 1 hour. This is usually sufficient time to review very brief papers, discuss the problem at hand and get an understanding of the issues. This also leaves time to answer any questions or give advice as to the future steps needed.

We also offer 30-minute sessions if you don’t require the full hour.

Example of Costs under a Damages Based Agreement

If your case recovers £40,000, and under the terms of the DBA contract, we get paid by taking 35% (inclusive of VAT) of the compensation award, our charges would be £14,000 (inclusive of VAT). In terms of claiming costs from the other side this would be based on the time spent and usual hourly rates, not the DBA percentage.

Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI)

Before commencing any claim, it is vital that you check whether you have any existing legal expenses insurance that could help cover the costs of your employment claim. Some insurance, such as home insurance, may have built in legal expenses cover, which could cover some if not all of the cost of the case as if it were proceeding on hourly rates (but with the insurer paying as opposed to you directly).

Every insurer has its own procedure. Some may ask you to complete a form in which you are asked to provide a summary of your employment issues together with supporting evidence. The insurer will then look to see whether your case has more than 51% chance of succeeding and that the cost of funding is not  more than the amount of compensation you are likely to receive.

You should check to see whether you have Legal Expenses Insurance, and find out the exact terms to see how much of the case, if not all, it will cover. You should also enquire whether it will cover adverse costs too, which refer to the costs of the other side, if the case is lost.

If cover is available, you may find the insurer wants to appoint their own “panel” solicitor. This is where a firm already has an agreement with the insurer to pick up cases for them. A client has the freedom to instruct legal experts of their own choice, meaning it’s possible for us to act under the LEI  policy should you have this funding  available to you.

Our solicitors’ hourly rates

Our hourly rates are competitive, and mean that you will be charged for the work done on your case on an hourly basis. Work would be carried out at the level of experience required, with expert professionals on hand to assist you throughout your claim.

Below is a guide to our hourly employment law rates:

• Trainee rate: £130 + VAT
• Solicitor: £300 + VAT
• Partner: £350 + VAT

Please note the prices indicated are national rates and exclude our London rates.

Before starting work on your case, we will be able to estimate roughly how much the fees will be, and we will advise you of this at the start. If more time needs to be spent on the case, we will inform you straight away, but we will endeavour to keep to the estimated rate given to you at the beginning of your case.

Any estimate given to you will accurately reflect the time already taken on the case, as well as that which is expected to be taken as the case develops. If, as the case progresses, there is a significant change that is likely to affect the costs set out in the original estimate, you will be provided with a revised estimate as soon as possible.

Choosing this option means that the overall sum of compensation will belong solely to you. You will be invoiced for work as it progresses and will be required to pay whether you win or lose.

Example of costs using our hourly rates

Should you choose to instruct us based on our hourly rates, then the pricing for bringing claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal may cost in the following region:

• Simple case: £5,000-£10,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
• Medium complexity case: £10,000-£20,000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
• High complexity case: £20,000+ (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• If it is necessary to make applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
• Making 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 may be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing day depending on whether you choose to instruct legal counsel (a barrister). Daily rates for legal counsel range between £200-£1,500 per day but we would discuss all options with you. Generally, we would allow 1-2 days for a simple employment claim or 4-6 for a more complex case.

The key stages of an employment claim:

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 the claim
• Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the other side
• 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 side 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 side’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.