Cavendish Employment Law Limited provides fully transparent costs which are based on the following;

Fixed Fee matters are offered for specific work, such as;

• Reviewing a Settlement Agreement, which can be done for the amount of the employer’s contribution towards costs, so there will be no additional charge.
• Drafting and submitting a Grievance, for a fixed fee of 2.5 hours based on the hourly charge of £395 plus VAT. Where the Grievance involves the perusal of additional documents or extends to more than 2 pages, we may charge for the additional time and will confirm and agree this in advance of any additional work being carried out.
• Drafting and submitting an Appeal, for a fixed fee of 2.5 hours based on the hourly charge of £395 plus VAT. Where the Appeal involves the perusal of additional documents or extends to more than 2 pages, we may charge for the additional time and will confirm and agree this in advance of any additional work being carried out.
• Reviewing a contract of employment, depending on the length and complexity, can usually be carried out for a fixed fee of £500-750 plus VAT.

Damages Based Agreement

Where we are appointed to negotiate a settlement on a Without Prejudice basis, we can carry out all negotiations on a no win no fee basis and any settlement would be subject to a success fee of 29% plus VAT. The full details of how this is calculated are set out in the Terms of Business which will be provided and agreed at the time of instruction, and a copy of which can be provided on request.

Hourly Charge

Where required and subject to the work involved, we can offer to work on an hourly charge basis of £395 plus VAT.

Disbursements

In most employment cases there will be no disbursements, however if a Barrister is appointed to provided specific advice or assistance, their fee will be agreed in advance.

VAT

Cavendish Employment Law Limited is registered for VAT and all charges are subject to a 20% charge.

Key Stages and Timescales

We endeavour to respond to each enquiry immediately and usually within 1-3 hours. We understand the urgency of many employment matters and therefore respond where possible out of hours and at weekends to avoid any delay.

Settlement Agreements can be reviewed and advised on the same day as instruction, where required, and where the timescale has been confirmed at the time of instruction.

Emails are responded to as soon as we are able, often immediately, and within 1 day of receipt.

Telephone calls are responded to as soon as we are able, often immediately, and within 1 day of request. Where the instructed solicitor is engaged in meetings or hearings, a call may be responded to with an email to avoid delay, or by another solicitor.

Complaints

We pride ourselves on providing the highest possible standard of client care, however if there are any concerns over the service that has been provided, these can be sent to Caroline Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so the concerns can be fully investigated in accordance with our Complaints Handling Procedure;

Complaints Handling Procedure

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint
• And no later than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about
• Or no later than one year from when you should have realised there was cause for complaint

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

Contact details

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

Employment Tribunal Work for Unfair and Wrongful Dismissal

Legal Costs for Unfair Dismissal and Wrongful Dismissal Claims

Costs for Unfair Dismissal and Wrongful Dismissal claims:

The claim if Unfair Dismissal is a statutory claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996. The claim of Wrongful Dismissal is a breach of contract claim.

Unfair Dismissal claims must be brought in the Employment Tribunal, where legal costs are not normally recoverable, even if entirely successful. Wrongful dismissal can be brought in the Employment Tribunal, if the value of the claim does not exceed £25,000. Wrongful dismissal claims can also be brought in the civil courts, where (depending on the value of the claim) legal costs may be recoverable if you are successful. Equally, if you are unsuccessful in the civil courts, you might be liable for the other sides’ legal costs.

We are unable to provide a fixed fee for Unfair and Wrongful Dismissal claims, as they can vary substantially in the complexity, value, number of witnesses and preparation time. Our normal hourly rate is £395+VAT per hour.

The main stages of either an Unfair or a Wrongful Dismissal claim in the Employment Tribunal is:

1. Receive instructions from you, assess the merits of the claim, and advise. This might take 2 to 4 hours for a straightforward claim.
2. If appropriate, seek a negotiated settlement before the issue of proceedings. This might take 3-6 hours if the other side are willing to negotiate at this stage
3. Issue the Employment Tribunal claim / submit a Response to the Claim. This might take 4 to 8 hours.
4. Comply with disclosure of any documents in your possession or control relevant to the claim. Depending on the number of documents and the nature of the claim, this might take 2 to 10 hours for a relatively straightforward claim.
5. Provide a Schedule of Loss for Claimants (the money you are claiming). This might take 1-3 hours.
6. Represent you at a Preliminary Hearing (normally avoided if the claim is a straightforward unfair dismissal claim). This might take 4 to 8 hours depending on the nature of the hearing. Alternatively we may instruct a barrister to conduct the advocacy at such a hearing. His or her fee would need to be agreed at the time.
7. Prepare and exchange witness statements. This can vary substantially, depending on the complexity of the factual issues, the number of witnesses, the number of documents and other factors. This could take 5 to 45 hours, and in some cases, even longer. However for Claimants, in a straightforward unfair dismissal claim, this may take between 7 and 14 hours work.
8. Represent you at the full merits. This will depend on the number of days the case has been listed for. Even simple unfair dismissal claims are often listed for two or three days possibly longer. Preparation and attendance at the hearing might be up to 28 hours for a hearing lasting three days.
9. Alternatively, if we instruct a barrister to represent you at the full merits hearing, the cost of that barrister will depend on a number of factors including the complexity of the claim and the seniority of the barrister who we instruct on your behalf.
10. Represent you at a remedies hearing. Including preparation, this might take 8 to 16 hours.
11. Throughout, liaise with you, the other side, the Tribunal other parties. This can take more time than you may think and could require 30 or more hours of our time.

In theory therefore, in an unfair dismissal listed for 3 days, these various stages might approach 150 hours, which at £210+VAT per hour might therefore cost £31,500+VAT (£37,800).

However very often costs will be very substantially less. For a straightforward unfair dismissal or wrongful claim, it would be budget for between £8,500 and £17,000 including VAT.

We will confirm our estimate of costs to you following our first meeting and will update you periodically as the case progresses.

We will always consider and discuss means of resolving the claim in a more cost effective manner, which may include seeking a negotiated settlement or mediation.

Out of Pocket Expenses: Depending on the nature of the claim, you may also have to pay for out of pocket expenses (disbursements) which might include:

1. Photocopying or printing costs
2. The barristers fees (see above)
3. Expert report (uncommon in a straightforward dismissal claim)
4. Court fees (Employment Tribunals do not currently require parties to pay fees to pursue a claim)

We will liaise with you before incurring any significant cost or disbursement.

No Win No Fee: In the majority of cases, we will not be able to accept instructions on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis (otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement or Damages-Based Fee Agreement)

Timescales: Seeking a negotiated settlement before the issue of proceedings may (if successful) take two weeks. Employment Tribunal proceedings, from the date you instruct us, to the date of a remedies hearing, may take six to nine months. This depends mainly on how quickly the Tribunal can list the case

See also Solicitors Regulation Authority