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Our Resolve. Your Resolution.
Wrongful dismissal claims may arise if you have not terminated someone's employment in accordance with their contract. Unfair dismissal claims focus on the reasons someone's employment has been terminated and whether these are valid under prevailing employment law.
It is really important to seek specialist employment legal advice, otherwise you may:
As a general rule, your legal costs are not recoverable in the Employment Tribunal, which means that parties usually pay for their own legal costs. We have set out our typical charges below along with additional information about timescales.
We offer transparent and flexible payment options, including hourly rate and fixed fee options, designed to suit your needs.
It is important to understand that not all unfair or wrongful dismissal claims proceed all the way to the Employment Tribunal. In many cases, particularly with the help of experienced employment lawyers, the parties settle before incurring significant costs or time. Early advice from us will improve your chances of reaching a favourable settlement.
| What’s covered | Typical timescales* | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Meeting & advice upon claim submitted by former employee | Review claim Meeting Review documentation Written advice as to prospects of & tactics for responding to the claim | 1-2 weeks |
| 2 Drafting detailed response to the claim and submitting to the tribunal | Prepare first draft response Seek your instructions on the content and request any necessary further information Finalise response and submit | 1-3 weeks |
| 3 Disclosure of evidence | Gather any additional relevant evidence from you and collate for disclosure Produce list of documents Review documents disclosed by your former employee and obtain information from you on the content | 1 – 6 weeks |
| 4 Bundle preparation | Prepare and agree index with former employee and collate tribunal bundle Produce multiple bundles | 1 – 2 weeks |
| 5 Review Schedule of Loss | Review and advise upon schedule of loss received from your former employee | 1 – 2 weeks |
| 6 Witness statements | Prepare witness statement Review statement received from your former employee | 3 – 6 weeks |
| 7 Final Hearing | Instruct a barrister to represent you at the final hearing | 1 week |
* Please note that the timescales given above relate to the time which we anticipate it will take for us to undertake that particular stage of the work. The time that it might take from submitting your initial response to reaching the final hearing will vary depending upon various factors (including how busy the tribunal is) but could be typically anything from 6 to 18 months.
We tailor our support to your circumstances and requirements. The charges can vary in a number of ways dependent upon various factors such as:
As a result, our charges will need to take these aspects into account. Note also that, if you have employment claims’ cover (for example, through our employment package ‘Harrowells Assist’), then you may be able to recover these costs from your insurer.
We have expressed our fees below exclusive of Valued Added Tax (VAT) as this is a more useful format for most businesses; you are reminded that the current prevailing rate of VAT is 20%.
Our fees for defending a wrongful or unfair dismissal claim (taken through stages 1 to 7) start from £5,100 plus VAT. This assumes the most simple and straightforward unfair dismissal claim involving, amongst other things, simple facts and minimal documentary evidence, no more than one witness for either party, no preliminary hearings or applications and minimal communications with your former employee or their representative.
Typical wrongful or unfair dismissal claims can involve significant documentary evidence, several witnesses and challenges from the other party. As a guide, our fees, on average, for a wrongful or unfair dismissal claim (taken through stages 1 to 7) are £15,000 plus VAT. These fees are based on the following hourly rates: partner-level solicitor £330 plus VAT; solicitor £195 - £250 plus VAT depending on complexity and urgency of the matter; trainee solicitor £110 plus VAT.
None of the figures above take into account unfair dismissal claims which are accompanied by other more complex claims such as the following (non-exhaustive) examples:-
In cases involving other complex issues, we will provide a quotation for the work bespoke to your particular circumstances.
Our fees do not include Counsel's fees for representing you at a hearing which are estimated between £1,000 (plus VAT) per day and £4,000 (plus VAT) per day (depending on the seniority of the barrister).
Other charges which may apply in more unusual situations:
Your matter will predominantly be looked after by a qualified, regulated solicitor who focuses exclusively on employment law and the majority of the work will be undertaken by them directly. From time to time, they may delegate certain aspects of the work, under their supervision, to a trainee solicitor. Click the 'Meet the team' button on this page for more details about our employment law advisers.
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