Employment

Employment law need not be restrictive, limiting the freedom as a business.  With the right legal advice and support, employment law is the means to securing a platform to develop a committed and productive workforce, enabling the sustainable development of your organisation.

At Wellers our team provides a comprehensive service for your business which is designed to allow you to concentrate on providing services for your customers while we take care of the legal work.  Our lawyers are able to address all of the issues that you face as an employer.  We offer the level of support you need when you need it, so that your business can achieve workforce stability and improved productivity, and effectively manage disputes as they arise.

Our employment law services for employers include:-

• Employment contacts, mergers and acquisitions (Transfer of Undertakings & Acquired Rights)
• Policies and procedures
• Changing terms and conditions
• Advice on conducting disciplinary and grievance proceedings
• Directors’ duties
• Industrial relations, staff restructuring and redundancies
• Information and consultation
• Employment Tribunal representation

Charging Arrangements

Not every business is the same.  Our services are tailored to your business to match the level of support you require.

Set out below are the normal range of costs for an unfair and/or wrongful dismissal claim by an employee.  Should there be additional or alternative claims, such as for allegations of discrimination or detriment due to whistle blowing, this would take such claims outside the normal range and we would discuss the costs of such claims with you on an individual basis.

• Simple case: £5,000 to £8,000 (excluding VAT)
• Medium complexity case: £8,000 to £15,000 (excluding VAT)
• High complexity case: £15,000 to £30,000 (excluding VAT)

Factors that could make a case more complex include:

• The number and range of allegations being claimed.
• 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.
• The level of support you need to include the length and number of emails from you, the number of telephone calls and how many times we meet with you.
• Whether or not you are able to give us timely and full instructions without needing to be chased for information or documents
• Making or defending a costs application.
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether the Claimant has a disability (if this is not agreed by the parties).
• The number of witnesses and documents.
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim eg if the employee alleges that they were dismissed after blowing the whistle on you.
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £2,500 plus travel time per day (excluding VAT).  Generally, we would allow 1-3 days for a simple case and 5-10 days for a highly complex case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Court fees (although currently no Court fees are payable in the Employment Tribunal), Counsel’s fees and expert’s fees.  We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are normally estimated between £500 to £3,000 per day (excluding VAT) depending upon the experience of the barrister and are payable for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including some preparation).  We will discuss with you in advance the level of seniority of the barrister required to present your case and how much their fees will be before we instruct them.

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 the merits and likely level of compensation (which will also be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation in correspondence direct with the employee or their representative and/or through ACAS as appropriate.
• Preparing the response to the claim.
• Reviewing and advising on the claim from the employee.
• Exploring and seeking to negotiate settlement throughout the process.
• Considering the employee’s Schedule of Loss.
• Preparing for and attending a Preliminary Hearing and discussing and attempting to agree to the draft Agenda for this with the other side.
• Requesting further information of the employee if appropriate.
• Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing an index to the bundle of documents.
• Preparing bundles of documents.
• Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
• 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 those expected in a normal claim before the Employment Tribunal.  They are not, however, exhaustive and there may be additional stages involved which may involve an additional cost.  On the other hand, if some of the stages above are not required, particularly if the matter settles before the Final Hearing, the fee will be reduced accordingly.

If your matter is not one which falls within a normal claim and the fees therefore set out above, due to additional or alternative claims or additional stages, we will discuss any further work required with you and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary.  This would also apply to any work not before the Employment Tribunal such as any Appeal or any County Court proceedings.

How long will the 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 or negotiation, the case is likely to take anywhere between 4 and 12 weeks depending upon the employee’s stance and both parties’ willingness to compromise.  If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, the case is likely to take 6 – 12 months from receiving the employee’s claim.  Much will depend upon the Tribunal’s ability to fix an early date to hold the Preliminary Hearing, whether this takes place by telephone or in person and then the Tribunal’s ability to fix an early Final Hearing which will, in turn, usually depend upon how long the Final Hearing is estimated to take.  These are just estimates and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and then as the matter progresses.

Your matter is as important to us as it is to you. Therefore, our employment team comprises solely of highly experienced, fully qualified solicitors: James Baird and Rosalind Webster both based at our Bromley office.  They both regularly undertaking Employment Tribunal work for clients.  Please see their profiles on this website for further details of their experience.  They are both supervised by one of the firm’s Partners or Heads of Department who have all been qualified as a solicitor for at least 14 years.

To arrange a business review or for an initial chat please contact one of our team by email at enquiries@wellerslawgroup.com or call us on 0208 464 4242.