Our Fees

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• 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, or it is linked to health and safety
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,000 to £1,500 per day. Generally, we would allow between 1 and 10 days depending on the complexity of your case and how many witnesses are being called by both parties.

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 your claim or response
• Reviewing and advising on a 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 the 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 a barrister (known as "Counsel")

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, that will be reflected in the fees. 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. 

 The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your case 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 between 1 to 3 months. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take up to a year or longer. 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 your case progresses. 

 You may want to check your home contents, business and motor insurance policies to see if you have "before the event insurance" which might cover your legal fees. This is sometimes called Family Legal Protection, Business Cover or Legal Expenses Insurance. If you have this, then you can choose to use the insurance company's advisers for free (they may or may not be qualified solicitors) or you can choose your own legal representatives  (like us of course), and we will need to enter into an agreement with your insurer. The insurer may not pay all of your fees, so please discuss this with us.