Employment Law

At Clodes we are here to provide advice on a range of employment issues including:

• Settlement Agreements (previously known as Compromise Agreements);
• Disciplinary & Grievances;
• Tribunal proceedings;
• Unfair dismissal;
• Discrimination; see our recent article for more information
• Redundancy;
• Breach of Employment Contract claims;

Our solicitors have experience in all the above aspects of employment law and have between 1 and 10 years of experience in dealing with employment disputes. We always make sure that junior solicitors and members of staff are supported and supervised appropriately so that the quality of advice is not affected, regardless of who is working on your case.

If you would like further information on our employment prices please click here or if you wish discuss an employment problem or have questions over your employment contract, contact Clodes today on 02920 765050.

Employment Pricing

Private Paying Prices

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

• Simple case average cost: £2000-£6000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
• Medium complexity case average cost: £3000-£15000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)
• High complexity average case cost: £4000-£29000 (excluding VAT, charged at 20%)

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further 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 claimant 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 you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of between £750 and £1000 per day (excluding VAT, charged at 20%). Generally, we would allow 1-10 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Our hourly rates for our solicitors are as follows:

Grade A: £230 + VAT

Grade B: £177 + VAT

Grade C: £146 + VAT

Grade D: £111 + VAT 

All rates are subject to VAT at 20%

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees, experts fees etc. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.  It is difficult to give you an exact estimate for disbursements so please contact us and we can give you a more bespoke idea. 

Counsel’s fees estimated between £1,500 and £10,000 per day ex VAT charged at 20% (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

Key stages

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

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
• Preparing claim or response
• Reviewing and advising on claim or response from 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 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

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. With this said, the price may also increase depending on what is actually required.  Further, there may be some additional stages if we need to deal with any issues outside of the main hearing.

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 4-8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6 – 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.

Our employment solicitors

Damian Clode has many years of experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to employment law. Damian is a partner and qualified in April 2008.