The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA’s) Transparency Rules require us to provide transparency about our prices for particular types of work.
We provide the information required by the SRA below, and hope that it is helpful.
Every client’s matter is different, and the cost of an individual case will depend on a number of factors, including its complexity, value and duration. The information provided below is therefore necessarily only an approximate guide. We have always aimed to provide clients with the best possible information about the cost of our services, and are happy to provide individual cost estimates based on the details of a particular case; please feel free to get in touch for more information.
We understand that whether you are an individual or business, it is important to know how we charge before we get started.
Most of our work is advisory and is therefore charged on an hourly rate basis.
Our hourly rates for individuals start at £300/hr plus VAT but the rate is dependent on the work involved, its complexity and who undertakes it. The hourly rate range is currently up to £600/hr + VAT.
Our hourly rates for businesses start at £300/hr plus VAT but the rate is dependent on the work involved, its complexity and who undertakes it. The hourly rate range is currently up to £600/hr + VAT.
VAT is currently chargeable at 20% where applicable.
If you are a business working on a specific project then, if it is possible, we will agree a fee in advance based on estimated hourly rates for the task in hand. We may also be able to agree a lower hourly rate if the project is likely to be time intensive.
We also offer businesses reduced hotline rates for the first 30 minutes on any new matter to ensure that they can obtain advice on varied matters knowing what the costs are.
All our charges are set out in our letter of engagement. It is important for you to check this to ensure that it sets out what we have agreed between us in relation to fees.
We would expect a straightforward standalone claim for wrongful dismissal (notice pay), or the defence of such a claim, in the ET to cost approximately £30,000 + VAT (at 20% where applicable) if it does not settle and proceeds to a hearing. This figure includes expenses and disbursements (see below ). If the case settles at an earlier stage, costs would be lower.
However, in many cases it would not be cost-effective for us to bring such a claim in the ET (and indeed we have not done so to date), as the current cap on compensation for wrongful dismissal (a breach of contract claim) in the Employment Tribunal is £25,000. Higher value claims are usually brought in the High Court or County Court, where different procedures, costs and cost recovery rules apply; please contact us to discuss the likely costs of bringing such a claim.
This cost estimate covers taking initial instructions, advice on the merits of your case, pre-claim conciliation, drafting Tribunal papers and a schedule of loss, preparing for and attending a Preliminary Hearing, reviewing your documents for exchange with the other side and reviewing their documents, preparing witness statements and reviewing the other side’s witness statements, preparing for and attending the final hearing, correspondence with the other side, exploring settlement and the final hearing of a claim.
It does not include a number of other matters which might increase the complexity of, and time required to manage, a matter. Please see below as to factors which may increase the cost of a claim and the likely timing of a matter.
We would expect a straightforward standalone claim for unfair dismissal, or the defence of such a claim, in the ET to cost approximately £40,000-£55,000 + VAT (at 20% where applicable) if it does not settle and proceeds to a hearing. This figure includes expenses and disbursements (see below) . If the case settles at an earlier stage, costs would be lower.
However, we also act for individuals who may have complex claims including (in combination with an unfair dismissal claim) claims for discrimination or whistleblowing, and act for employers defending such claims. Such complexity will add to the time required to represent a client, and the costs of doing so.
This cost estimate covers taking initial instructions, advice on the merits of your case, pre-claim conciliation, drafting Tribunal papers and a schedule of loss, preparing for and attending a Preliminary Hearing, reviewing your documents for exchange with the other side and reviewing their documents, preparing witness statements and reviewing the other side’s witness statements, preparing for and attending the final hearing, correspondence with the other side, exploring settlement and the final hearing of a claim.
This summary above does not include a number of other matters which might increase the complexity of, and time required to manage, a matter. Please see below for examples of issues which may make a case more costly and the likely timing of the matter.
We generally charge by hourly rates which are agreed with you in advance. They range from £300/hr + VAT up to £600/hr + VAT but the hourly rate is dependent on the work involved and its complexity.
Employment tribunal claims can vary in complexity. The fees we charge will vary depending on the complexity of the matter.
Broadly, you can expect the following fee ranges:
We may also incur costs of third parties on your behalf. The most significant of these is likely to be the fees of counsel (a barrister who may advise on the merits of a case, draft ET or Court documents on your behalf and represent you at hearings). Counsel’s fees will vary according to the size and complexity of the case and seniority of the barrister instructed, but we typically work with barristers charging between £250-500 per hour (+ VAT at 20% where applicable). We might expect barristers fees (included in the estimates provided above) to come to somewhere between £0 and £10,000 (+ VAT at 20% where applicable) for straightforward wrongful dismissal case, somewhere between £0 and £20,000 (+ VAT at 20% where applicable) for a straightforward unfair dismissal claim.
We may also pass on to you the costs of scanning or copying disclosure documents and hearing bundles by a specialist legal copying provider charging from 10p per page (plus VAT at 20% where applicable) (although we do not charge for incidental photocopying), significant travel costs (for example a standard class rail ticket from London to Birmingham of £100) and courier charges. The above estimates assume that, in a straightforward case, there are no significant travel costs or courier charges.
We will often handle the payment of these costs on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
You may have other funding options available, such as cover under an insurance policy (sometimes a household policy will offer this), and you should check this.
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 your claim proceeds all the way to a Final Hearing, your case could take between up to 2 years from issuing proceedings. The precise timetable for the steps leading up to the Final Hearing will be managed by the Tribunal and are usually set at the first preliminary hearing.
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Exemplar Law Limited (SRA NO. 637302) is a limited company (registered in England and Wales number under company number 10583620) which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”). We use the term "partner" to refer to a Director of Exemplar Law Limited. A list of the names of Directors of Exemplar Law Limited and their respective professional qualifications may be inspected at our registered office, 2 Worrin Road, Shenfield, CM15 8DE. The SRA Code of Conduct sets out the rules and principles of professional conduct for practising solicitors and can be accessed from the SRA website.
