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Askews Solicitors Price Transparency

Price Transparency: Employment

Hourly Rate

The hourly rate Askews Solicitors charge for Employment Law work is £290.00 (+VAT at 20%). Like most legal firms we charge time in 1/10th of an hour units. The minimum charge for an item of work is therefore £29.00 (+ VAT at 20%). Timed attendances and telephone calls, preparation, drafting and reading documents are charged at our hourly rate.

Example Costs

The costs involved in a tribunal claim are dictated by a number of factors including:

  • The complexity of the case, which may have multiple heads of claim arising from the facts
  • The evidence available
  • The number of documents
  • The number of witnesses
  • The attitude of your opponent or its lawyers
  • The issues identified in the case
  • The number of telephone and in-person tribunal hearings required; and
  • The number of days fixed for a final hearing if a case needs to go to trial.

As a rule of thumb, half the costs in a claim are spent in the detailed preparation leading up to the hearing and the other half are incurred at the hearing itself.

A relatively straightforward wages claim may cost approximately £800 plus VAT at 20% to prepare if you opt to attend the hearing yourself and have your documents in order to prove the claim.

An unfair or wrongful dismissal claim may typically cost in the range of £4,500 to £15,000 plus VAT at 20% for between a 1 day and 3 day case.

A whistleblowing or discrimination claim may typically cost between £10,000 to £30,000 plus VAT at 20%, or more, if it involves a multi-day hearing with numerous witnesses to be examined and a lot of documents.

Please note: The range of costs detailed above for unfair dismissal claims and whistleblowing or discrimination claim include the likely costs of representation by either a solicitor or an employment barrister at a pre-agreed fee, which you would be asked to pay on account in advance of the hearing.

Work Covered

The fees detailed above cover all of the work in relation to the appropriate key stages of a claim, such as,

  • Taking initial instructions – important because clients often do not know what facts give rise to which claims
  • Reviewing the papers, advising on the strength of a claim and the likely compensation (which would be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
  • Dealing with early conciliation which is mandatory, and to see if a settlement can be reached
  • Speaking to the other side, be it the employer’s HR representative or the employer’s lawyer
  • Preparing the legal claim, or response
  • Reviewing and advising on a claim or response from other side
  • Exploring settlement possible settlement throughout the process
  • Preparing or considering a statement of the value of the claim
  • Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing at the Tribunal
  • Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
  • Taking witness statements, drafting statements, referencing the documents from the tribunal bundle and ensuring key evidence is dealt with in statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
  • Considering and applying for witness orders
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
  • Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list if required
  • If representing a client at a hearing, scripting cross -examination questions, preparing written case submissions and obtaining relevant case reports
  • If instructing a barrister, preparing a detailed brief in good time for the hearing
    Reviewing a judgment and if instructed, advising on appeal or instructing the barrister to do so

Claims can be settled at any time up to the Tribunal delivering its full judgment. Starting a claim does not mean it will inevitably go to a hearing but you should be fully prepared for it to do so.

How long will my matter take?

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, your case is likely to take 2-12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 12-18 months. 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.

Fixed Price Work

Although the above information is only a guide for potential clients, if you instruct us, we should be able to discuss your individual situation and requirements and a more accurate estimate of costs could be provided.

We cannot provide a binding quotation for employment litigation costs because we cannot predict all outcomes. However, if we are instructed to do a fixed piece of work for you, such as assisting with preparing an appeal letter or to provide a script for a hearing, this can usually be agreed based on the hourly rate and the time to be taken.