EMPLOYEE FEES 01223 415372

Joanne offers free initial advice for employees and then a number of funding options:

• No Win - No Fee

Subject to a favourable assessment of the merit and value of your claim we can offer to represent you under a no win - no fee agreement.

If we settle your case or win at the Tribunal Hearing our costs are 35% of the settlement sum or any compensation awarded. If you lose all you pay are our travelling expenses to the Tribunal. You will be responsible for any disbursments that are incurred, for example, the cost of any medical experts reports in a disability discrimination claim. We will, however, obtain your consent to any disbursement before it is incurred and other funding methods may be available such as from the Employment Tribunals Service. If we all agree to proceed on this basis we will send you a no win - no fee agreement together with a full explanation of how this method of funding works.

• Hourly Rate

We can also represent you on a traditional hourly rate basis which is payable whether you win or lose. How much you pay will depend upon the amount of time we spend on your matter. We will provide you with full details when you are considering which funding option is best for you.

• Insurance Cover

If you have the benefit of Legal expenses cover which is usually provided under your household insurance policy or similar products we may be able to act for you under the terms of your policy. The benefit of this is that your insurers meet your legal fees and you keep 100% of your damages. Please note that sometimes your insurers try to insist on you using their own panel solicitors. However, insurers are not generally entitled to restrict your right to appoint a solicitor of your choice. Please do not hesitate to discuss this further with us if you think it may be an issue.

• Settlement (Compromise) Agreements

It is usually a term of Settlement (Compromise) Agreements that an employer pays all or most of an employee's costs incurred in the negotiation and completion of that Settlement (Compromise) Agreement. Again, if you have any queries with regard to this please call us to discuss it further.

• Fees in Unfair and Wrongful Dismissal Cases

All cases are different and it is not generally possible to give accurate information about the likely total cost of an unfair or wrongful dismissal claim until we have met with you and discussed your case in full. We provide initial free advice in order to do so.

However, based on our experience the following are typical ranges of fees for running a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal from beginning to end:-

Simple Cases
£5000 to £7000 plus vat currently at 20% and disbursements such as Barristers fees and medical fees.

Medium Complexity Cases
£7000 to £12,000 plus vat currently at 20% and disbursements such as Barristers fees and medical fees.

High Complexity Cases
£12,000 to £20,000 plus vat currently at 20% and disbursements such as Barristers fees and medical fees.

Factors that could make a case more complex include:-

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or provide further information about an existing claim.
• Making or defending a costs application.
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether the Claimant is disabled.
• The number of witnesses and documents.
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal after whistleblowing.
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to unfair dismissal.
• The length of the final Hearing.

Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process although we will ask you to pay these funds to us before the costs are incurred.

When instructing a Barrister to represent you at a Hearing we will negotiate their fees on your behalf. Generally, fees for a Preliminary Hearing will be from £750 to £1250 plus vat. For final Hearings fees depend on length of Hearing but for a shorter 2 day Hearing the Brief fee for the Barrister's preparation of the case and attendance at the Employment Tribunal on the first day may be around £2000 plus vat. For further days known as Refreshers these may be in the region of £1000 to £1250 plus vat per extra day. This is dependent on the experience of the Barrister and complexity of the case.

Key Stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:-

• Reviewing the papers, advising you on the merits of the claim and likely compensation which will be revisited throughout the matter and may be reviewed.
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation with ACAS to explore whether a settlement can be reached before issuing proceedings.
• Preparing the claim.
• Reviewing and advising on the Response from the other party.
• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
• Preparing a Schedule of loss.
• Preparing for Preliminary Hearing or Preliminary Hearing Case Management Discussion and attending if appropriate.
• Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents.
• Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing the content with witnesses.
• Preparing the bundle of documents for the final hearing if ordered to do so.
• Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements.
• Agreeing a List of Issues, chronology and cast list.
• Preparation for final Hearing to include instructing the Barrister to represent you. As mentioned above the Barrister's fees are payable in addition to our fees.

How long will my matter take?
The time that it takes from us meeting to take your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If settlement is achieved during the ACAS Early Conciliation period then this may only take 6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final Hearing in the South Eastern Tribunal region following the Covid-19 pandemic this could take up to 2 years depending on how many Hearings take place. 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.

---

We accept payment by credit and debit cards.

---