Complaints & Privacy Policy

Transparency Rules -Employment Law Tribunal Pricing

Employment law can be complicated, and when disputes arise it can seem daunting at first.  We (Mandy and Sean) have successfully been guiding clients through the Employment Tribunal litigation process for a number of years (meet the team for more information about our experience). More recently, as Talem Law, we have been continuing to advise on contentious matters. We have the advantage of acting for both employers and employees, which gives us a valuable insight into the thought processes of each side and means that we can often find a solution which is both cost-effective and agreeable to all, without the need for costly Tribunal proceedings.

We have experience of working at all levels in business, from advising senior board members to junior members of staff or advising all types of employers from large employers to small family-owned businesses. We appreciate that whether you are a claimant bringing a claim or a respondent responding to a claim, it can be a stressful time, but we will use our skills and abilities to meet the challenges you face, informing you of progress without resorting to legal jargon.

We feel it is important that you know about our pricing before we start work for you.  As each case we handle is different, it is difficult to give exact figures, and we will discuss with you our hourly rates (currently £200 per hour excluding VAT and reviewed and updated with effect from 1st November each year) or whether in your matter it would be possible to agree a fixed fee or agreed fee. We are currently below the VAT threshold and therefore do not charge VAT at present on our fees but for completeness, the VAT standard rate is 20%. By way of an example, our pricing range for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal in the Employment Tribunal (excluding disbursements) are listed below: –

• Simple case: £4,500 – £8,500 (excluding VAT)
• Medium complexity case: £8,500 – £13,000 (excluding VAT)
• High complexity case: £13,000 – £20,000 (excluding VAT)

It is important to note that many cases are settled without the need for a hearing before an Employment Tribunal and we work hard at all times to avoid unnecessary expenditures. We will also advise you on whether the potential award an applicant could receive will justify the costs, and we would monitor this throughout a matter. In estimating likely costs we are required to assume that the case actually reaches and is heard at a hearing.

What could make a case more complex?

• The factual background of the dispute – if your dispute involves claims of discrimination then they can be more complex than might otherwise be the case
• The approach adopted by the other side – if your former employer or employee is “deliberately awkward” this can mean that costs increase outside of our control
• The amount of documentation involved on both sides
• 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
• 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

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We will always make it clear what costs are disbursement costs and how they should be paid.  

If you choose to instruct a barrister (and we will discuss with you if this is necessary as we do try to conduct many of the hearings ourselves, but this is not always possible), his or her fees will be in addition to the price ranges set out above. Counsel’s fees vary greatly depending on the level of expertise and experience of the barrister selected. To include trial preparation these costs might range between £750.00 (excluding VAT) to £5,000.00 (excluding VAT) for preparation and the first day of a hearing and thereafter at a daily rate of between £600.00 (excluding VAT) to £1,500.00 (excluding VAT), depending on expertise and experience.  VAT standard rate is currently 20%.

The term also covers the costs of copying disclosure documents and hearing bundles provided by a specialist copying provider whose average charge is 10p per page (plus VAT at 20% where applicable) (although we do not charge for incidental photocopying), significant travel costs (although we do not charge for travel within London), courier charges and the fees of expert witnesses. We will always discuss with you any likely disbursements that may arise in your matter.

Key Activities

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to key activities of a claim. Broadly speaking, these are the key activities in a standard unfair dismissal/wrongful dismissal claim. See table below where we have attempted to group these key activities into distinct stages as they could proceed in a live case along with approximate timescales.

• 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 a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list
• Preparation and our attendance at Final Hearing, or instructions to Counsel

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

Timescales

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 4 to–6 weeks. If your claim proceeds and is listed by the Employment Tribunal, it is usual for directions to be issued and if the matter proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take more like 6-9 months (depending on when the Tribunal lists the case for hearing) but if the hearing is listed for multiple days, it is likely to take longer and could be up to 12 months.

The table below gives you an idea of how an unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal case could proceed and is for illustration purposes only and includes estimated timescales for each stage.

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.

Our Privacy Policy tells you what will happen to any personal data that you provide to us as a result of using this website. The information is written for the benefit of general visitors to the website – if you are a client of ours (or become one) we process a wider range of personal data and deal with a broader range of privacy-related issues. Clients are provided detailed information about this during the engagement process.

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem

In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure in the link below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that time frame, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint.  They will look at your complaint independently.

Contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Please be aware that the Legal Ombudsman has published certain rules on its website in relation to complaints, including rules as to who can complain, what they can complain about, the time limits within which to complain.

If you do wish to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, please be aware that any complaint must usually be made within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within one year from the date of the act/omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within one year from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint.

For further information you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on the contact details above.