Defending Unfair and Wrongful Dismissal Claims

If you are having issues with an employee or ex-employee in your business then please feel free to contact us for a Free Initial Enquiry on 01298 22741 or make an Online Enquiry.

We would always recommend that you seek initial advice before taking any action in relation to dismissing. If an employee has brought a claim against you then please contact us as soon as possible.

Prices

Our costs information is set out generally below. For a bespoke quote relevant to your exact claim details, please click here and enter your details and we will contact you. Please refer to our privacy policy for details of how we will use any information that you submit via the enquiry form on our website.

Please note that there will be two elements to the costs information set out below:

Fees charged by Brooke-Taylors Solicitors. These are charged on the basis of hourly rates; and
Fees payable to third parties.

Please ensure that you consider both parts of the costs information.

Fees charged by Brooke-Taylors Solicitors

It is always difficult to assess the level of costs for defending a claim. It varies significantly on the allegations raised and conduct of the other side.

We have prepared a table of the likely costs involved in a simple defence of an employment tribunal claim.

This is produced as a guide and cannot be relied upon as a fixed charge.

Action	Estimated time required	Fee	VAT (20%)	Total
Taking your initial instructions in an initial interview.	Fixed fee	£200.00	£40.00	£240.00
Reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).	1 hour	£275.00	£55.00	£330.00
Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.	1 – 3 hours	£275.00 - £825.00	£55.00 - £165.00	£330.00 - £990.00
Pre-action correspondence.	1 - 3 hours	£275.00 - £825.00	£55.00 - £165.00	£330.00 - £990.00
Reviewing claim and drafting response.	3 – 4 hours	£825.00 - £1,100.00	£165.00 - £220.00	£990.00 - £1,320.00
Alternatively, preparing instructions to counsel for them to draft response.	2 - 3 hours	£550.00 - £825.00	£110.00 - £165.00	£660.00 - £990.00
Reviewing the claimant’s schedule of loss.	1 hour	£275.00	£55.00	£330.00
Instructing counsel for preliminary hearings.	1 hour	£275.00	£55.00	£330.00
Dealing with disclosure.	2 – 3 hours	£550.00 - £825.00	£110.00 – £165.00	£660.00 - £990.00
Witness statements.	2 hours per statement	£550.00 per statement	£110.00 per statement	£660.00 per statement
Preparing bundle of documents for hearing.	1 – 2 hours	£275.00 - £550.00	£55.00 - £110.00	£330.00 - £660.00
Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or index.	1 hour	£275.00	£55.00	£330.00
Instructing counsel for final hearing	2 hours	£550.00	£110.00	£660.00
TOTAL	15 - 23 hours	£4,125.00 - £6,325.00	£825.00 - £1,265.00	£4,950.00 - £7,590.00

*Based on an hourly rate of £215

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

More complex matters will vary. We may also advise that barrister should draft the proceedings or seek advice from a barrister.

Factors that could make a case more complex:

If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide 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 client 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 they are dismissed after blowing the whistle.
Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.

Please note that this is only the legal costs of Brooke-Taylors if you are unsuccessful in your litigation the court may order that you pay the other side’s costs on top of your own.

Fees payable to third parties (‘Disbursements’)

Description of Disbursement	Fee	VAT (20%)	Total
Counsel’s fees for preparing response	£300.00 - £1,000.00	£60.00 - £200.00	£360.00 - £1,200.00
Counsel’s fees for preliminary hearing	£300.00 - £1,000.00	£60.00 – £200.00	£360.00 - £1,200.00
Counsel’s fees for final hearing	£700.00 - £2,000.00	£140.00 - £400.00	£840.00 - £2,400.00

Work included and key stages

The precise work and stages involved in bringing an unfair or wrongful dismissal claim vary according to the circumstances. However, we have set out the key stages involved in a typical claim:

Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers, and advising you on merits and likely compensation.
Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
Preparing your claim.
Reviewing and advising on response from the other party.
Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
Preparing a schedule of loss.
Preparing for 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 attendance at final hearing, including instructions to counsel.

Services excluded

Our services (within the scope of this costs information) will not include any of the following:

Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal.

Approximate/average 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, the case is likely to take 3 months. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, the case is likely to take 8 months. This is just an estimate and we will be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.