Employment Tribunals
Employment Tribunals
We can represent you in your employment tribunals matter with a range of different payment methods including fixed fee basis, hourly rates, Damage Based Agreement, Insurance, with flexible payments options.
Where we agree a fixed fee with you from the outset of the case, you will know how much your case will cost exactly. The Fixed Fee agreed will depend on:
1. The complexity of the case
2. The amount of supporting evidence that we need to considerThe estimates described below represent the range of the fees for most standard applications. Upon our initial assessment of your situation, we may agree on a fixed fee.
If a fixed fee is agreed upon and your matter or transaction does not reach a conclusion or you decide to withdraw instructions, we reserve the right to charge for the work done on your case using our hourly charging basis.
Our charges do not include VAT, which we will add to your bill at the prevailing rate of 20%.
Our Fixed fee for legal cases covers all the work written and oral work for the stage of the legal matter for which you have instructed us.
Please be advised that our fees do not cover the third-party disbursement charges e.g. bailiff cost.
Some disbursements noted below attract VAT. VAT on a Disbursement is charged at 20%, unless otherwise noted below.
All our Employment Tribunal work is carried out by Sunny Patel and Manik Miah who are both Solicitors & Directors at Crystal Law Solicitors.
Nicola Plumb, Laura Edington and Zainab Girach support the department with Paralegal and Administration duties.
Client Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Court Fees, Interpreters, Independent reports and not included in our fixed fee prices. We will however handle the payments of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. You will be notified of the Disbursement amount well in advance and your agreement will be sought before these disbursements are incurred.
Court Fees may be applicable depending on your case. Where case fees are requiring the amount, you will be informed in advance. Court Fees are likely to range from £35 - £10,000. VAT if not payable on Court Fees.
Counsel fees will be agreed with you in advance before counsel is instructed on your behalf. Costs for the barristers are likely to be in the range of £700 - £2,500 plus VAT if payable.
Independent expert reports e.g. medical experts are not required in many cases: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary in your case and the disbursement to be incurred will be agreed with you in advance of us instructing expert on your behalf.
Independent expert reports will be agreed with you in advance before instructed on your behalf. Costs for the Independent expert reports are likely to be in the range of £700 - £2,500 plus VAT if payable chargeable at 20%.
Electronic money transfer fee is charged at £40, plus VAT which is charged at 20%.
The number of hours needed for interpreters will vary on the complexities of the case and the number of words when documents are translated. Often clients will bring a friend or another community figure to assist with interpreting. Clients do not always have to use an interpreter of our choosing when providing us with instructions.
Interpreters’ fees from £25-£40 per hour excluding VAT which is charged at 20%. Most kinds of applications will normally require between 2 - 10 hours of client contact with an interpreter, depending on the complexity of your case.
For Document translation, the fees range from £95 - £120 (per 1000 words) excluding VAT which is charged at 20%.
If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses.
Employment Tribunal Fees for Businesses
We have set out below our pricing range for defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal. Please note that the pricing does not cover any other type of claim, such as a discrimination claim, which your business might need to defend. We do not offer any conditional fee or damage-based agreements.
We cannot give a definitive cost for this work as it will depend on the complexity of the claim(s) that are being brought against your business. However, we have set out below a pricing range which shows you our charges for dealing with a claim from start up to (but not including) a final hearing according to its complexity:
- Simple Case: £6,000 to £10,500 plus VAT at 20%, considering approximately 20 to 35 hours work.
- Medium Complexity Case: £10,500 to £15,000 plus VAT at 20%, considering approximately 20 to 50 hours work.
- High Complexity Case: £15,000 to £30,000 plus VAT at 20%, considering approximately 50 to 100 hours work.
Our Solicitors hourly rate is £250 plus VAT. VAT will be charged at the standard prevailing rate of 20%.
We may provide you with a fixed fee quote within the appropriate range once we have a better understanding of the claim against your business (exclusive of barrister’s fees). Any offer of a fixed fee will be dependent upon the merits and complexities of the claim against you.
Your legal fees may be covered by a commercial insurance agreement. If your fees are covered by such an agreement and your insurers appoint us to represent you, then some or all of your legal fees may be covered by your insurers, dependent upon the terms of your policy. However, you may be asked to pay an additional amount on top of the contribution being paid by your insurers, for example if the terms of your policy are only to pay a percentage of fees charged. The policy may also cover barrister’s fees.
Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or dispute a request to amend the defence or provide further information about an existing claim
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- Dealing with complex issues before the tribunal hearing such as whether the claimant is an employee (if this is in dispute) or whether the claim has been issued in time
- The number of witnesses and documents. The greater the number of witnesses and the larger the amount of the documents, the more complex the claim
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim, e.g. if the claimant was dismissed after blowing the whistle on the business
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
There will be an additional charge if you would like us to attend the tribunal hearing of £1,500 per day plus VAT at 20%. Generally, we would allow 1 to 3 days attendance depending on the complexity of your case.
Disbursements are necessary costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, which we handle on your behalf. A barrister will be instructed to represent you at the tribunal hearing. Barristers are lawyers who specialise in representation at hearings. When a barrister is instructed to represent you at the tribunal hearing there will be an additional cost (Counsel’s fees). Counsel’s fees for an unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal claim are typically estimated between £1,500 to £3,000 per day plus VAT, depending on the number of years’ experience of the barrister. This cost covers the barrister’s preparation time and attendance at the tribunal hearing.
Employment Tribunal Explained
The fees set out cover all work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers, and advising you on the merits of the claim against the business. The likely compensation the business could be asked to pay the claimant. (Advising you on the merits and the likely compensation the claimant may receive are both likely to be revisited throughout the matter and are both subject to change)
- Entering pre-claim conciliation where this is required to explore whether a settlement can be reached
- Preparing the business’s response to the claim and filing it at the tribunal
- Exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- Considering details of the claimant’s losses (schedule of loss) and preparing a counter-schedule
- Preparing for and attending any hearings which are needed to resolve issues prior to the main tribunal hearing (these are called ‘Preliminary Hearings’)
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
- Taking witness statements, drafting witness statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
- Preparing an agreed bundle of documents for use at the tribunal hearing
- Reviewing and advising you on the other party’s witness statements
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and or a cast list for use at the tribunal hearing
- Preparation for and attendance at the final hearing, including instructing a barrister
How long will my matter take?
The time 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 prior to us having to file a response on your behalf, or shortly after filing your response, your case is likely to take 6 to 12 weeks. If your case proceeds all the way to a final tribunal hearing, your case is likely to take around 6 to 9 months but may be longer depending on how quickly the tribunal can find a date for the hearing. This is 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.
Employment Tribunal Fees for Individuals
We have set out below our pricing range for bringing claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal. Please note that the pricing does not cover any other type of claim, such as a discrimination claim, which you might need to bring.
We cannot give a definitive cost for this work as it will depend on the complexity of the claim(s) that are being brought by you. However, we have set out below a pricing range which shows you our charges for dealing with a claim from start up to (but not including) hearing according to its complexity:
- Simple Case: £4,500 to £6,000 plus VAT at 20%, considering approximately 15 to 20 hours work.
- Medium Complexity Case: £6,000 to £9,000 plus VAT at 20%, considering approximately 20 to 30 hours work.
- High Complexity Case: £9,000 to £18,000 plus VAT at 20%, considering approximately 30 to 60 hours work.
Our Solicitors hourly rate is £250 plus VAT. VAT will be charged at the standard prevailing rate of 20%.
We may provide you with a fixed fee in specific situations for example dependent upon the merits and complexities of the case and the likelihood of settlement (exclusive of barrister’s fees). Any offer of a fixed fee will be dependent upon the merits and complexities of your legal matter.
We may provide you with a damages-based agreement (‘No Win, No Fee’). The offer of a damages-based agreement will only be made if the merits of your claim have been assessed and it is commercially viable to offer the agreement taking into consideration the merits and value of your claim and the amount of work required in running the claim. A deduction of 35% inclusive of VAT will be made against the value of any successful or settled claim towards our legal fees. If you lose you do not pay anything towards our legal fees. Please note that the damages-based agreement does not cover the cost of a barrister representing you at the Tribunal hearing (see additional costs and disbursements below). You will have to cover the barrister’s costs should your claim not settle, and a barrister represents you at the Tribunal hearing.
If you have legal expenses insurance and your insurers appoint us to represent you all the work may be funded on an agreed hourly rate, however, you may be asked to pay an additional amount on top of the contribution being paid by your insurers if the contribution offered by your insurers is not at a rate agreed with us or if the terms of your policy are only to pay a percentage of fees charged. It is usual for your barrister’s fees to be covered by your insurers, subject always to the terms of your policy.
Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or dispute a request to amend your claim or provide further information about an existing claim
- Making or defending a costs application
- Dealing with complex issues before the tribunal hearing such as whether you are an employee (if this is in dispute) or whether the claim has been issued in time
- The number of witnesses and documents. The greater the number of witnesses and the larger the amount of the documents, the more complex the claim
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim, e.g., if you were dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to your dismissal
There will be an additional charge if you would like us to attend the tribunal hearing of £1,000 plus VAT at 20%, per day. Generally, we would allow 1 to 3 days attendance depending on the complexity of your claim.
Disbursements are necessary costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, which we handle on your behalf. A barrister will be instructed to represent you at the tribunal hearing. Barristers are lawyers who specialise in representation at hearings. When a barrister is instructed to represent you at the tribunal hearings there will be an additional cost (Counsel’s fees). Counsel’s fees for an unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal claim are typically estimated between £1,500 to £3,000 per day plus VAT at 20% depending on the number of years’ experience of the barrister. This cost covers the barrister’s preparation time and attendance at the tribunal hearing.
Employment Tribunal Explained
The outlined fees include the comprehensive range of services provided at various key stages of an Employment Tribunal claim including:
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Initial Consultation: This involves receiving your initial instructions, reviewing pertinent documents, and offering advice on the merits of your claim against the business. We will also assess the likely compensation the business may be required to pay in the event of a successful claim. It's important to note that advice on merits and potential compensation is subject to reassessment throughout the proceedings and may change.
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Pre-Claim Conciliation: If necessary, we will engage in pre-claim conciliation to explore the possibility of reaching a settlement.
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Response Review: We will carefully review and advise on any issues arising from the other party's response to your claim.
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Settlement Exploration: Throughout the process, we actively explore and negotiate potential settlements.
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Loss Assessment: We will consider the details of your losses, compile them, and draft a comprehensive schedule.
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Preliminary Hearings: If required, we will prepare for and attend any preliminary hearings necessary to resolve issues before the main tribunal hearing.
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Document Exchange: This includes exchanging documents with the other party and mutually agreeing on a bundle of documents.
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Witness Statements: We will take witness statements, draft them, and collaborate with witnesses to agree on their content.
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Agreed Bundle of Documents: Preparation of an agreed bundle of documents for use during the tribunal hearing.
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Review of Other Party's Statements: We will review and advise you on the witness statements provided by the other party.
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Tribunal Hearing Preparation: This involves agreeing on a list of issues, creating a chronology, and preparing a cast list for use at the tribunal hearing.
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Final Hearing Attendance: We will prepare for and attend the final hearing, which includes instructing a barrister when necessary.
How long does the process take?
The duration from the start of your case to its ultimate resolution largely hinges on the stage at which a resolution is reached. Should a settlement occur before or shortly after the other party files their response, the case is anticipated to conclude within 6 to 12 weeks. However, if the case advances to a final tribunal hearing, the expected timeline is approximately 6 to 9 months, although it may extend based on the tribunal's schedule. This timeframe is an approximation, and a more precise estimate will be provided as we gather additional information and as the case unfolds.