Employment Tribunal Fees Cost Guide
Fees are charged based on our hourly rates, which range from £216.00 – to £348.00 (including VAT at the current rate of 20%) as at January 2024.
Costs of pursuing or defending an Employment Tribunal claim will vary depending on the nature of the claim and the identity of the parties. Overall costs will be in the region of £8,550 to £12,936 (including VAT at current rate of 20%) for a basic one day unfair or wrongful dismissal hearing. A more accurate quote will be provided at the time of your enquiry.
As a rough guide this can be broken down as follows:-
| Work involved | Time estimate | Cost Estimate* |
| Bringing a claim via an ET1 and Particulars of Claim, or defending a claim via an ET3 and Grounds of Resistance response | 5-10 hours | £1,290 – £2,580 depending on complexity |
| Preparation for and attendance at Preliminary Hearing (if required) | 3 – 5 hours | £774 – £1,290
(unless barrister is instructed to represent, in which case please see below) |
| List of documents for hearing | 2 – 4 hours | £516 – £1,032 |
| Preparation of hearing bundle (employer only) | 3 – 5 hours | £774 – £1,290 |
| Witness statements | Dependent on number of witnesses and statements required, as well as complexity and nature of evidence | Variable, often in the region of 6-8 hours work
£1,548 – £2,064 |
| Statement of Issues (1 week before the hearing) | 2 – 4 hours | £516 – £1,032 |
| Barrister attendance at the hearing | Estimate based on 1 day hearing
(additional days at extra cost) |
£2,100 |
| General correspondence | 4 – 6 hours | £1,032 – £1,548 |
*For Cost Estimate purposes these figures have been calculated using a median hourly rate of £258 with Employment Team hourly rates ranging from £216 to £348 including VAT at the current rate of 20%.
Non-standard / Additional work – HOURLY RATES
Depending on the complexity of the claim, additional fees may apply at the fee earner’s hourly rate, at the following indicative rates:
Partner £348 incl VAT at current rate of 20%
Solicitor £288 incl VAT at current rate of 20%
Trainee Solicitor / Legal Advisor £216 incl VAT at current rate of 20%
Please refer to individual staff profiles Our People – Redkite Solicitors for details of individual qualifications and experience.
Disbursements
Disbursements are likely to be limited to the cost of attendance by a barrister for a hearing, on which VAT at the current rate of 20% will be chargeable. These fees will be incurred by us at Redkite Solicitors and charged to you as a client as a disbursement inclusive of VAT.
Factors that are likely to increase or decrease the cost for an Employment Tribunal claim include the following:
- Whether the claim progresses to full judgment and remedy or whether the case is settled at an earlier stage. Costs will then depend on work carried out to date;
- The duration of the scheduled hearing and the nature of the claim. Most unfair and wrongful dismissal claims may be 1 day hearings, but they can be 2 or 3 day hearings involving multiple witnesses, which would mean a higher cost for witness statement preparation and higher disbursements for attendance at the hearing for the additional days;
- If a case involves more complex issues such as discrimination, the level of work involved is greater and any Final Hearing is likely to be for a minimum of 3 days;
- Whether a preliminary hearing is ordered to consider preliminary points or not;
- Preparation of witness statements is charged based on the number of witnesses and time involved, and this varies from case to case. Witness statements are taken as read in a tribunal so they need to be as detailed as possible as no ‘new’ evidence can be introduced at the hearing that isn’t already covered in the witness statement;
- Costs will also depend on whether the other party is legally represented or not. If the other party is not legally represented, it can cause additional work for the first party, as the other party then has to be guided to ensure that they too understand case management directions and what is expected of them;
- Finally costs will also depend on whether the client has opted for full legal advice so that we manage everything, from issuing or defending the claim to liaising with the client for preparation of their witness statements. Alternatively, some clients opt for a ‘light touch’ approach, whereby we assist them with certain aspects of a claim in the background only, for example reviewing a witness statement of defence that they themselves have put together.
Please see here for more information on the Tribunal Process and likely timescales.
Recoverability of Legal Fees
Even if you a party is successful in their claims, it is very unlikely that the tribunal will make an order requiring the other party to pay their legal costs.
The employment tribunal will only order that one party pay the other party’s costs in limited circumstances, usually where it considers that a party or their representative has acted “vexatiously, abusively, disruptively, or otherwise unreasonably”, or that they have been “misconceived” in bringing or defending the proceedings. It is rare for the tribunal to make any costs order but independent legal advice should be sought to discuss this further.
Affordability of Legal Fees
We do not offer any conditional fee arrangements for pursuing Employment Tribunal claims. We however recommend that all clients check any insurance policies they may have to see if they have any legal expenses insurance which may provide cover for employment disputes. We regularly assist clients with pursuing claims in accordance with the terms of their legal expenses insurance.
Supervision
In addition to the lawyer handling the claim, client files are supervised by a senior member of the team or Head of Department, who has ultimate responsibility for the matter. The supervisor is named in the engagement letter that is sent out to clients at the start of the process.