Pricing and Staff Information for Employment Tribunals - Employers

Costs range from £160 plus VAT up to £50,000 plus VAT and disbursements.

We have estimated disbursements (including Counsel’s fees) from £0 to £15,000. VAT is calculated at the rate applicable at the time the work is carried out; this is currently 20%. Such disbursements include Counsel’s fees, expert fees and travel/witness expenses.

These price indications are based on cases dealt with by the firm from January 2017 to April 2021. These prices are based on our hourly rates.

Pricing and staff information is correct as of January 2024 and will be reviewed and updated every six months. Click on each person’s name below to view their experience and hourly rate.

What our fees include

Within these fees, we would normally:

  • Take initial instructions to understand the nature of your dispute
  • Make contact with your employee, or the appropriate party, to set out your position
  • Attempt to negotiate a settlement with your employee either in correspondence or by some form of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation
  • Make an application for Early Conciliation
  • Represent you during the Early Conciliation Process
  • Negotiate and liaise with the relevant parties during the Early Conciliation Process
  • Draft the necessary Settlement Agreement/COT3 as appropriate
  • Advise upon any Settlement Agreement/COT3
  • Negotiate any Settlement Agreement/COT3 offered
  • If a settlement cannot be achieved, draft for approval and signature by you, appropriate documents to allow the claim to be commenced in the Employment Tribunal
  • Issue your claim in the Tribunal
  • Accept documents from appropriate parties on your behalf
  • Attend as required by the Tribunal any preliminary hearings
  • Agree with you whether any expert evidence would be needed and, if so, agree on a suitable expert and prepare instructions for the expert and liaise with that expert
  • Consider and advise you on any expert evidence received
  • Agree with you whether a barrister should be instructed and if so, agree with you a suitable barrister and prepare instructions to, and liaise with, that barrister
  • Arrange and attend any conferences needed with any expert or barrister
  • Keep you informed of progress throughout and advise you on developments
  • Advise you on any offers received or offers we would recommend you make
  • Prepare for and represent you at (including where appropriate arranging representation by a barrister at) any final hearing

Timescales

The time taken depends on the attitude of the other side to the case. If a case can be negotiated swiftly, it may, on average, take between three and 12 weeks.

Tribunal proceedings must be issued within three months of the termination of employment if a settlement cannot be negotiated before that date. If a case runs all the way through to a contested hearing, it may take up to 12 months from the issue of the Claim Form.

Employment tribunal FAQs

An Employment Tribunal makes decisions about all types of employment disputes, including claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination. Claims are heard by a panel of three members, who will be an employment judge, someone representing employer’s organisations and someone representing employee’s organisations. Employment Tribunals are public, meaning anyone can attend and they can be freely reported in the press.

Employees usually have 3 months less one day from the date of the alleged incident to bring a claim. If the claim relates to a pattern of behaviour, the time limit may be counted from when the most recent example is alleged to have occurred.

If the claimant only became aware of a potential issue sometime after it occurred, the time limit may be counted from this date instead (e.g. if they were overlooked for a promotion and later come to believe this was due to a protected characteristic such as their race or gender).

Employment Tribunals deal with a wide range of employment disputes, including in relation to matters such as:

  • Unfair dismissal
  • Redundancy
  • Maternity leave + paternity leave
  • Discrimination
  • Workplace bullying + harassment
  • Equal pay

Before taking formal action, an employee should contact you to discuss the issue they believe has arisen. At this point, it is strongly advisable to contact our specialist employment solicitors. We can advise you on whether your employee’s claim has merit and whether they are likely to succeed at an Employment Tribunal.

If the employee appears to have strong grounds for a successful claim, we can help you negotiate a voluntary settlement agreement with them, allowing the matter to be resolved without the need for formal action. A settlement agreement protects you against the possibility of the employee bringing a claim for the issue in question, usually in exchange for a one-off payment to the employee.

If a settlement agreement cannot be reached, an employee will normally need to contact Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and attempt early conciliation before making a claim to an Employment Tribunal. Early conciliation will usually result in either a legal binding oral agreement or a COT3 form recording the terms of any agreement reached.

Generally speaking, most employment claims can be resolved without the need for you to attend a tribunal, which can save you time and money, as well as the potential for negative publicity.

If an employee has contacted Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to resolve an employment dispute, you will be contacted by an Acas conciliator. They will work with you and your employee to see if an agreement can be reached to resolve the dispute voluntarily, allowing you to avoid the need for an Employment Tribunal.

An agreement you reach through Acas early conciliation will be legally binding and the details of the agreement will usually be recorded in a COT3 form.

If you cannot resolve an employment dispute with a settlement agreement or through early conciliation, you may be required to attend an Employment Tribunal.

This will involve both you and your employee presenting your cases to the tribunal panel, usually with the support of your respective solicitors. The panel will then decide whether the employee’s claim is justified or not.

If the tribunal panel decides in favour of the employee, then depending on the circumstances you may be required to:

  • Reinstate the employee into their previous role, on the same terms and conditions
  • Rehire the employee in a new role with terms and conditions equal or better to those they were on previously
  • Pay financial compensation to the employee

If the tribunal panel decide in your favour, that will usually be the end of the matter, unless the employee appeals the decision.

In some exceptional cases, the panel may require the employee to cover your legal costs. However, this will usually only be in circumstances such as if the employee brought a claim with no reasonable chance of success or if they withdrew their claim very late in proceedings when you had already spent a considerable amount on your legal costs.

An ET1 is a form an employee will fill out to start an Employment Tribunal claim when they believe they have been treated unfairly by their employer, potential employer or their trade union.

An ET3 is the form you use as an employer to respond to an Employment Tribunal claim brought by an employee or a job candidate whom you chose not to employ.

This will entirely depend on the circumstances, but we will try to give you a realistic indication of the likely costs involved at the earliest opportunity.

Please get in touch now to discuss your case and we will be happy to give a clear breakdown of our fees and various expenses involved in Employment Tribunal claims.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of an Employment Tribunal hearing, we can advise you on whether you may have grounds to appeal. If we believe your appeal has a real prospect of success, we can help you take your case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) for review.

You will usually have 42 days from the date when you receive the original Employment Tribunal decision to submit your case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) for review.

An EAT hearing will involve presenting your case, usually with the support of a solicitor, and the employee will also be able to present their case. The EAT will then make a decision over whether to hold up the original Employment Tribunal’s decision or whether to offer a different decision.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of an EAT hearing, you can then apply to the Court of Appeal for a further review of your case. You do not have an automatic right to have your case reviewed by the Court of Appeal, however, so you will need to apply to the EAT or the Court of Appeal for permission to have your case reviewed.

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    • "Barcan+Kirby helped me at very short notice with a settlement agreement. Very professional advice from a very caring Associate. I would recommend them for any employment dispute."
      AnonEmployment Client
    • "Natalie gave me great advice and understood my predicament, especially as I was given a tight deadline from my previous employer."
      Anon Employment Client
    • "Samantha was very helpful. She was knowledgeable and friendly which put me at ease. I would recommend Barcan+Kirby to anyone needing legal support."
      Anon Employment Client
    • “This is the second time our company has used the services of Barcan+Kirby. On this occasion we required our Contract of Employment to be reviewed to bring it up to date in line with current employment law. Samantha was an absolute pleasure to deal with. She was extremely knowledgeable, professional and took the time to fully understand our business to ensure that we included all the relevant clauses for our current business as well as looking ahead at our future growth plans. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Samantha to provide legal advice on employment issues.”
      AnonEmployment Client
    • "Natalie was very friendly and efficient, and made me feel like I was the number one priority."
      Ms BEmployment Client