Employment Law

Employment law legislation is constantly evolving, and for individuals, understanding your rights can feel like navigating a complex maze. Our experienced team is here to provide clear, expert guidance to help you make informed decisions.

Whether you’re facing issues related to your employment contract, workplace policies, unfair treatment, or wrongful termination, it’s crucial to know where you stand. We’ll help you understand your rights, ensure you are treated fairly, and provide timely advice on matters such as redundancy, discrimination, or disputes over wages.

With our support, you can confidently address employment concerns and protect your interests in an ever-changing legal landscape.

We are able to offer advice and practical help on all employment related matters and services, including:

Why Instruct Us?

We have an excellent reputation for giving sound and realistic advice. By instructing us, you will benefit from complete peace of mind safe in the knowledge that your case can be resolved before it’s allowed to escalate.

Being able to rely on a legal specialist who is an expert in this field is extremely important. Due to our conveniently located offices, you have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the expert dealing with your case. We also make use of the latest technology available to us and therefore we can conduct your transaction by telephone and email, making contact easier and more convenient for you.

What Happens Next?

We’ve made it really easy for you to contact us by offering flexible appointments to suit your needs.

At your first meeting with us, we will talk through your options and look at what you want to achieve. We will explain the process and options to you, and how the court might approach the various issues in your case.

How Much Will It Cost?

Employment Tribunal cases are dealt with on a privately paying basis in line with the Firm’s Terms of Business. We offer fixed fee appointments of £375.00 plus VAT charged at 20% for one-off assistance, payable on the day of the appointment. Continued assistance is priced at the Firm’s hourly rates, which for Mrs Chadaway for example, is £280.00 plus VAT charged at 20% per hour (Mrs Chadaway is a Solicitor with over 8 years of experience).

It is difficult to provide exact costs for Employment Tribunals, but the following is intended to be a guide in respect of our pricing for bringing or defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Simple case: £1,500-£3,000 (excluding VAT charged at 20%)

Medium complexity case: £3,000-£5,000 (excluding VAT charged at 20%)

High complexity case: £5,000- £7,500 (excluding VAT charged at 20%)

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

We generally do not arrange for a Solicitor to be present at a Tribunal Hearing if you are being represented by a Barrister (see below) but if Mrs Chadaway does attend, this would be charged at her hourly rate as set out above.

Disbursements

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

There are no longer any fees payable for issuing claims in the Employment Tribunal.

Barrister’s fees are estimated between £500.00 to £1,750.00 per day excluding VAT charged at 20% (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 on a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
Preparation for a Final Hearing, including instructing your Barrister

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be lower.

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 based upon 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 approximately 1- 12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take approximately 6- 30 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.

Settlement Agreements

This is an agreement reached between the Employee and Employer which can be used to resolve an ongoing workplace dispute or to terminate the Employment Contract on agreed terms.

As it is a requirement that the Employee obtains legal advice as to the terms and effect of the Agreement, it is usual practice for there to be a term of the Agreement stipulating that the Employer is to pay a contribution towards the Employee’s legal fees. Our fees for providing advice and assistance with Settlement Agreements vary depending upon the complexity of the matter but start at £500.00 plus VAT charged at 20%.