Employment Tribunals Pricing

Pricing: Employment Tribunals (unfair or wrongful dismissal) – Defendant

These estimates of fees and timescales are for a typical Employment Tribunal where you are an employer defending a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Our charges are normally based on hourly rate fees which vary depending on the level of experience of the practitioner handling your case; see the table below. In some cases we may agree fixed costs for certain stages of the process, either at the start of the case or as it progresses.  

Click here to see a profile of each member of our team, including their experience and expertise.

Typical stages of a Tribunal case, and an indication of our fees at each stage, are shown below. The stages are based on the standard list of directions usually set by the Tribunal. More or less work may be required depending on the nature of the case and its surrounding circumstances.

1. Drafting and submitting Response Form: £750 – £2,500 plus VAT

We can normally complete this stage within a few days. Be aware that your Response Form must be submitted within 28 days of the Notice of Claim.

2. Reviewing Schedule of Loss; preparing Counter-Schedule; collating associated remedy evidence:  £750 – £1,750 plus VAT

Production of the Schedule of Loss by the Claimant is normally required by the Tribunal within three months from submission of the claim.  Action taken by you in response is typically an ongoing feature of your defence up to the final hearing.

3. Compiling Schedule of Documents; dealing with disclosure; preparing the hearing bundle: £750 – £2,500 plus VAT

This stage, together with witness statement preparation, may take several weeks and will usually occur 4-6 months after the claim submission.

4. Drafting witness statements: £1,500 – £3,000 plus VAT

This assumes the production of witness evidence appropriate to a standard one-day Tribunal case.

5. Advocacy at the Hearing: £1,500 plus VAT (for a one-day case)

We can present your case ourselves, or you may choose to engage the services of external Counsel (a barrister). Counsel’s fees are additional to our own fees and would typically be around £1,500 plus VAT for a one-day hearing, but will depend on the seniority and experience of the barrister.

Total estimated costs

Our total fees for a typical case, proceeding as we have outlined above, are therefore likely to range from £5,250-£11,250 plus VAT, with average costs falling within the middle of this range.

Employment Tribunal cases do not usually incur disbursements (additional fees for services provided by third parties in connection with a legal matter) other than Counsel’s fees.  Where instructed, Counsel’s fees are likely to fall within the overall estimate provided.

Timescales

We have no control over the listing of the case (the scheduling of a date and location for the hearing), which is in the hands of the Tribunal Service. We would normally expect it to be listed around 9 -12 months after the claim submission.