Employment Pricing Information

According to HMCTS, the process for a straight-forward unfair dismissal claim would follow is:

• Dispute arises.
• Try to resolve it informally or directly with their former employer, if not, using the Acas early conciliation process.
• If Acas early conciliation is not successful, the claim is then presented to the ET office. It is necessary to quote the Acas EC certificate number in order to present a valid claim
• It should then take 5 days for the claim to be acknowledged and accepted. It is then sent to the Respondent.
• The Respondent then has 28 days to present a response.
• If necessary, there is a preliminary case management hearing.
• Directions are issued. The steps which would need to be taken are:
  
  • The Claimant produces a schedule of loss (what is being claim in monetary terms).
  • Both parties make a list of all relevant documents and compare that with the other side’s.
  • Any documents which have not been seen and which are held by the other side are provided.
  • Those documents are collated into a bundle for use at the hearing (usually the Respondent undertaks this task).
  • Both sides draft and prepare written witness statements for the hearing. Witness statements are exchanged with the other side and their statements are reviewed.
• Details are then provided to a barrister to provide representation at the final hearing.
• It is HMCTS’s target for the final hearing to be held within 26 weeks of the claim commencing.
• If oral judgment is not given at the final hearing, the target is for a written judgment to be issued within a further 4 weeks.

This is an example of a very straight-forward unfair dismissal claim, with no complications.
In reality, there will almost always be other factors which come into play. For example, in our experience and especially since the COVID 19 pandemic, unfair dismissal hearings are not taking place within 26 weeks. This is because the ET is currently under resourced. Hearings are being postponed due to a lack of judges. Sometime one party will ask for and be granted a postponement.

Sometimes the case is not allocated to a judge and ‘floats’. This means that the system relies upon other cases settling and so resources become available; this does not always happen.

It would be more realistic to say that the final hearing should take place within 52-weeks, but even then, it can take longer than that.

An unfair dismissal claim will take longer, be more complex and cost more if other claims are brought in addition to unfair dismissal, eg:

• Discrimination;
• Whistleblowing;
• Transfers of Undertakings (TUPE);
• Health and Safety/Trade Union/Working Time
• Unlawful deductions from wages.

For a Claimant, a straight-forward unfair dismissal case could cost on average £10,000 + vat. It is likely to cost more for a Respondent as they usually have more witnesses and more responsibility for preparing the necessary paperwork, so an employer can expect costs on average of £13,000 + vat for a straightforward claim listed for a 1 or 2 day final hearing .

We charge an hourly rate for the work we undertake for you. This depends upon the level and experience of your representative. It ranges from £160 + vat for a trainee solicitor or paralegal to £290 + vat for a solicitor. The hourly rate may increase during the course of a transaction.

Employment work at Dean Wilson LLP is undertaken by Clare Waller, a Partner, who is a solicitor with over 20- years’ experience working full-time in the employment field., who has handled over 500+ cases.

We would expect a barrister to represent you at a final hearing. That cost depends upon how experienced the barrister is and how long the hearing is set to last for.

As a guide, you can expect to pay around £2,000-£3,500 + vat for representation at a one day hearing. A longer hearing will cost more, probably an additional £1,000-£2,000+ vat per day.
Please contact us for a specific quote in respect of your case.

It is important to note that the ET is a costs neutral jurisdiction, so in general, each side is responsible for their own costs. Costs awards are rare, so the successful party should not expect the unsuccessful party to pay their costs.

You should be aware that when ETs (then called Industrial Tribunals) were set up in 1965, the aim was to make them easily accessible and informal, so that the parties could feel confident to represent themselves. Since that time the claims which can be brought before the ET increased (there are currently over 120-claims for which the ET has jurisdiction) and so it has become more common for the parties to be represented. The representative does not have to be a lawyer. You can be represented by anyone you desire to represent you and that can include a friend/relative, an employee or a Trade Union official.

There are other sources of representation and advice, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Law Centres, Trade Unions and you should check whether or not you have legal expenses insurance (usually found as an add-on on insurance policies, such as household insurance, credit cards or car insurance).

Do please take a look at our Google reviews to see how our satisfied clients rate us and to read their comments.

If you would like to discuss a potential unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal claim in more detail and would like further information about our charges, please contact us on 01273 249200 or thelawyers@deanwilson.co.uk.