Costs and Service Information
Employment claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal
For Businesses
Prices
Fees charged by Winrow Solicitors
Fee Range VAT
Legal fee * £5,000.00 – £20,000.00 ** £0.00
* Basis of charging = hourly rate of £170.00 per hour.
** This range is determined by the complexity of the case and therefore the time that will need to be spent on the case. Simpler cases in which there are modest amounts of paper work, a small number of witnesses and no complex preliminary issues to investigate or agree, the fee is likely to be at the lower end of the range. This range also assumes that the case proceeds to final hearing, more complex cases that settle prior to a hearing are also likely to be at the mid or lower end of the range and simpler cases may fall below the range depending on how much work has been completed for the case.
There are so many variations that can affect cost estimates so please get in touch for a realistic estimate relevant to your case.
Note: Winrow Solicitors is not currently registered for VAT.
Work included and key stages
The precise work and stages involved in defending an unfair or wrongful dismissal claim vary according to the circumstances. However, we have set out the key stages involved in a typical claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation.
- Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
- Preparing your response.
- Reviewing and advising on the claim from the other party.
- Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
- Considering a schedule of loss.
- 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 representation or instructions to Counsel.
Services excluded
Our service will not include any of the following:
- Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal.
Approximate/ average timescales
The time that it takes from 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 up to 6 weeks. If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6 – 9 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 your case progresses.
Factors that could increase costs
In some circumstances we may increase our fees to account for additional time, work or skill required to meet your instructions. Examples include:
- If it is necessary to defend applications to amended claims or provide further information about an existing claim.
- If we defend a costs application.
- If there are complex preliminary issues.
- The number of witnesses and documents.
- If there are allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.
