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Employment Law Fees

One of the main reasons people are reluctant to seek legal advice is because they are afraid that they will be charged enormous fees for Askews Legal LLP is fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This means that by law we are required to be fully transparent in our pricing. Below you will find all the information concerning our pricing for Employment Law matters.

Employment Law Fees

If you have additional questions, please call us on 02476 231000 or email enquiries@askewslegal.co.

Partner/Solicitor’s Rates

The hourly rate applied will be dependent on the qualification and experience of your Solicitor and these rates are set out below:

  • Partner/Member Solicitor: £265
  • Senior Solicitor or Head of Dept: (PQE 8yr+) £240
  • Assistant Solicitor/Fee Earner: (PQE 3/7yr) £215
  • NQ Fee Earner: (PQE 1/3yr) £185
  • Paralegals/Trainees: £135
  • Support paralegals: £115

VAT

All fees are quoted exclusive of VAT, we will charge VAT at the standard rate applied by the government which is 20%.

Pricing

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal

Simple case: £4,000-£6,000 (excluding VAT and disbursements)

Medium complexity case: £6,000-£10,000 (excluding VAT and disbursements)

High complexity case: £10,000+ (excluding VAT and disbursements)

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
  • Dealing with claims where the other side (or their representative) is not proactive in responding to correspondence or complying with directions orders
  • Making or defending a costs application
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties), an application for interim relief, admissibility of documents
  • 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
  • Multiple claims

There will be an additional charge for attending an Employment Tribunal Hearing. We generally instruct counsel to attend hearings on your behalf. Generally, we would allow 1-10 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as counsel’s fees or travel/accommodation expenses. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are estimated between £750 to £3,000 + VAT per day for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation), depending on the experience of the Advocate. They are not included in the fee estimate above.

Key Stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work concerning 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 on a bundle of documents.
  • Taking witness statements, drafting statements, and obtaining witness’s agreement on the contents of the statements.
  • Preparing the document bundles.
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
  • Agreeing on a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list.
  • Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

The stages set out above are only an indication of what may be required and if some of the stages above are not necessary, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice concerning some of the stages. This can also be arranged on 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 and the Tribunal in which proceedings have been issued.

If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take between 1 day and 45 days. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take 26 – 52 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.