We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Transparency Rules to provide costs information for our work advising on claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal in the employment tribunal and debt recovery actions.
Our services
Our services may cover the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation or damages (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- Entering into early conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached
- Preparing the claim or response/defence
- Reviewing and advising on the claim or response/defence from the 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 a bundle of documents
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
- Preparing a bundle of documents
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or case list
- Preparation and attendance at trial including any separate hearing to determine compensation, including instructions to counsel
Your claim might involve fewer or additional stages including without limitation appeals and applications for information and costs.
We do not advise on tax or pensions law issues. Depending on the complexity of your claim, we may instruct specialist external counsel to assist with the preparation and conduct of your claim, including any advocacy.
Fee earners
We have significant experience advising on employment law issues and debt recovery actions. The fee earners that are likely to work on your matter are Harry Stirk, Director and Michael Goulborn, Counsel. Harry Stirk qualified in England and Wales in 2014 and Michael Goulborn qualified in England and Wales in 1992. Other fee earners may also work on your matter at our discretion.
Charges
Our fees are charged on a time spent basis and we record time spent working on a matter to the nearest unit of six minutes. Harry Stirk and Michael Goulborn have the same hourly rate of £375 plus VAT plus any disbursements. The hourly rate for a paralegal is £140 plus VAT plus any disbursements. The current rate of VAT is 20%. Disbursements may include without limitation fees of external counsel and amounts spent on or charged for travel, accommodation, photocopying and postage. Any fee earner's hourly rate may be increased to take account of a variety of factors such as the urgency or complexity of the matter.
Depending on the complexity of your case, our fees are likely to range from £15k to £100k plus VAT plus disbursements if it progresses to a full hearing. Fees are likely to range from £15k to £30k for simple cases, £30k to £50k for medium complexity cases and £50k to £100k for high complexity cases. The fees of any external counsel we instruct are likely to range from £2k to £25k depending on the extent of their involvement and the complexity of the case.
If we enter into a damages-based agreement with you, you will be required to pay us the agreed percentage of any award made by the employment tribunal subject to the more detailed provisions of the agreement between us.
It is possible for the employment tribunal to order that you make a contribution to the costs of the other party. This, however, is rare in employment tribunal cases.
Timescale
If your claim settles during early conciliation, the process may take up to three months to conclude. If it does not settle, it may take 9 to 12 months to obtain a decision from the employment tribunal. Debt recovery actions may take 3 to 12 months depending on complexity and the court's processing times.
There are many factors to consider in employment tribunal claims and debt recovery actions. The information set out above is only a summary and not comprehensive. Please contact us with any questions or for more information.