Vedder Price

Our London-based senior employment law partner heads up a team of team of solicitors and has been working in this area for 30 years. Jonathan Maude is editorially recommended in the Legal 500 directory.

Our solicitors have experience in all aspects of employment law and we dedicate ourselves to ensuring our knowledge stays up-to-date, to give clients the best service possible. Solicitor, Daniel Stander, has five years of experience in the area. We ensure that junior solicitors and members of staff are well trained, supported and supervised appropriately so that the quality of advice is not affected, regardless of who is working on your case.

We also employ paralegals who assist on many matters. Although they are not legally qualified, they have a range of experience, have received extensive training within our firm and work under the direct supervision of a solicitor with at least five years post-qualification experience.

We have a proven track record in providing commercial and practical advice and achieving successful outcomes for our clients.

Employment Tribunal Pricing Information

A main focus of our UK/EU employment practice is to avoid our clients from becoming involved in Employment Tribunal proceedings. As such, we are usually successful in resolving matters for our clients without the need for litigation. However, when a hearing is necessary we always seek to keep our costs proportionate to the matters in issue.

Pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

Simple case
£15,000-£25,000 plus VAT at 20%

Medium complexity case
£20,000-£40,000 plus VAT at 20%

High complexity case
£35,000-£80,000 plus VAT 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;

- extensive drafting of tribunal pleadings;

- defending claims that are brought by litigants in person;

- making or defending a costs application;

- complex preliminary or legal issues to be considered;

- large numbers of witnesses or documents; and

- allegations of discrimination or whistleblowing.

Generally, we would allow 2-10 days for a tribunal hearing depending on the complexity of your case (1-2 days for a simple case; 2-4 days for a medium case and 5 days or more for a complex case).

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to the matter that are payable to third parties, such as court or experts’ fees. We normally handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. We may request payment on account prior to us then paying them, or on account of our fees, as appropriate.

Barristers' fees may range between £750-£5,000 per day (depending on experience) for attending an Employment Tribunal hearing, although these may be significantly higher if, for example, we engage a senior barrister, this will be done with your agreement.

Main stages

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

- taking initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation and risk;

- 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; and

- preparation and attendance at final hearing, including instructions to counsel.

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. 

Timescales

The time taken to deal with a claim will be entirely dependent upon the stage at which the case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, the matter is likely to take 4-6 weeks. If the claim proceeds to a final hearing, the case is likely to take 6-12 months. As a general rule, the longer the case is estimated to last, the longer it will take to be heard and therefore resolved.

Hourly rates

Our costs are generally incurred by reference to the time spent by the solicitor(s) dealing with the claim. Our employment lawyers’ details are on the website. The hourly rates vary by experience and fall into the following categories as at January 2024:
 
Partners 
£580 - £715 plus VAT per hour
 
Senior associates
£360 - £450 plus VAT per hour
 
Associates
£270 - £385 plus VAT per hour
 
Trainee solicitors/Paralegals 
£150 - £210 plus VAT per hour