Christmas Parties: Mitigating and handling incidents, altercations and harassment
In this article, Employment Associate Chris Dobbs outlines how employers can mitigate, prevent and handle incidents, altercations and harassment at christmas parties.
How much does an unfair or wrongful dismissal case cost?
Every case is unique
The the cost of bringing or defending a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal will depend on the amount of time our lawyers spend working on it
[staffrotator]
For that reason, we offer a free initial appointment with one of our expert lawyers where we can discuss your case over a cup of tea or coffee. Once we have learned a bit more about your situation, we can provide you with a more accurate estimate.
You can call us on 01202 499255 or click here to arrange your free initial meeting.
Example prices for unfair or wrongful dismissal cases
The table below shows our approximate fees for a simple case, a case of medium complexity and a case of high complexity.
How much does an unfair or wrongful dismissal case cost?
| Our fee for a simple case | Our fee for a medium complexity case | Our fee for a high-complexity case |
|---|---|---|
| £7,000-£12,000 + VAT | £12,000 - £25,000 + VAT | £25,000 - £40,000 + VAT |
Factors that could make your unfair or wrongful dismissal case more complex:
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- 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
- Making or defending a costs application
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
If there are other claims being brought within the unfair/wrongful dismissal claim, such as discrimination this may impact on the costs estimate.
There may be other funding options available to you, such as cover under an insurance policy. We will check this with you when we take your instructions.
Third party costs
Third party costs are costs related to your matter that are payable to other parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the third party costs on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel’s fees may be payable in addition to some or all of our fees as stated above. We will advise you if this is likely to be the case. Counsel's fees are estimated to be between £850 - £2,000 per day plus VAT (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).
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 merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
- 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
- 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. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged depending on your individual needs.
How long will my unfair or wrongful dismissal case 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, your case is likely to take 1 - 10 weeks.
If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 10 - 75 weeks.
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 the matter progresses.
