A work dispute with your employer can be stressful, and the last thing you want to be worried about is how to pay for the legal support you require.
We are dedicated to helping you get the best possible outcome in the most cost-effective way. Our team of employment solicitors aim to settle disputes without having to go to the employment tribunal, which keeps costs down in itself.
However, we can represent you at the tribunal and will be open and honest about the cost implications of bringing an employment claim at every stage. You can rest assured that we will give you accurate information regarding costing throughout your claim.
It is our duty to make you aware of all the available funding options you have when it comes to employment claims, including those that are not offered at our firm. There are some ‘free’ options available that may offer you the opportunity to progress your complaint or claim, at least in the first instance, without incurring any legal charges.
Where there is an internal complaint procedure available within your workforce, this may be the best starting place for your complaint. Most employers will have one of these, so be sure to enquire.
Where the profession you work for has its own internal complaints procedure, for example, if you work at a law firm then speaking with the Legal Ombudsman may be a route to go down.
The most common example of this that you will probably come across is the Financial Services Ombudsman. The Ombudsman here has far reaching powers and the service is free, although it can take a lot of time for matters to be adjudicated, and in some instances it can be quite complex to achieve a resolution in terms of the information that needs to be supplied.
Or request a call back if you’d like one of our no-win, no-fee experts to call you
A dispute with your employer can be stressful, and the last thing you want to be worried about is how to pay for the legal help and advice you need. We will help you get the best possible outcome in the most cost-effective way. Click below to find out more about the funding options available to you.
To learn more about funding your employment claim click here >
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.
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 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 (both preliminary and final) and for Judicial Mediation. 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 alternatives. For example, we can assist you based on our hourly rate. Our hourly rate is £300 plus VAT = £360. Depending on your instructions, we can charge you by the hour for any work you need assistance with
We also offer 30-minute sessions if you don’t require the full hour.
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.
Under our Damages Based Agreement, we retain the right to withdraw our representation if we believe that you have persistently behaved unreasonably or you act against our advice. If we withdraw under these circumstances, you will be liable for our work to date on our hourly rate.
The full details of circumstances constituting unreasonable conduct is included in our Damages Based Agreement which you will review prior to signing up as a client. For more information, please contact the fee earner who is working on your case who will be happy to discuss this further.
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 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:
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.
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:
Factors that could make a case more complex:
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 fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
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.
Please note, it would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur other costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances, please contact us for more information.
Get in touch with our no win, no fee employment claim solicitors today
If you need to talk to someone straight away you can call us for free on 0808 164 0808
Complete our form for a callback as soon as possible
In general you have three months less one day from the most recent act of discrimination or breach to take action, meaning you should act fast.
We recommend you speak to one of our lawyers in the first instance. As part of the process, you’ll need to get in touch with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), who will aim to achieve early conciliation with your employer. However, our lawyers can assist in this process where appropriate and we have formally been instructed.
Please be aware that the ACAS process can take up to around a month to complete, which will be taken from the three months you have to begin with. It’s important to act quickly in order to bring a tribunal claim. If the conciliation procedure is unsuccessful, we may be able to support you with the tribunal. If you feel you have a potential employment claim please act quickly and contact us today.
