Cost Transparency

Employment Claims

If you have got as far as reading our values, then you will already know that it is important for us at Redpoint to provide you with cost certainty. We get that you don’t want any surprises when it comes to legal costs, particularly when it comes to budgeting for employment litigation. We are required to set out a general idea of our employment litigation fees, which we have done below. However, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your case and we will give you a clear (and free) fee quote and wherever possible a fixed fee, please email [email protected].

Our fees

Our fees will either be agreed with you as a fixed sum at the start of your case or based on how much time it takes to deal with your case. Our standard hourly rate is £300 + VAT.

For dealing with an unfair or wrongful dismissal case our fees (excluding ‘disbursements’) tend to be as follows:

  • Simple cases: £5,000 to £8,000 (excluding VAT);
  • Medium complexity cases: £8,000 to 10,000 (excluding VAT);
  • High complexity cases: £10,000 to £20,000 + (excluding VAT).

The time spent on a case, and therefore our costs, can vary significantly depending upon how complex a case is. A case is likely to be more complex (and so incur more cost) if:

  • It is necessary to attend a long hearing;
  • it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim;
  • it is necessary to make or defend a costs application
  • there are complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
  • the number of witnesses and documents is high
  • protected disclosure (whistleblowing) claims
  • there are allegations of discrimination

Similarly, though, other employment law cases, such as pay disputes, can be much simpler and our fixed fee quote will be reflective of that.

Disbursements

Subject to the nature of your case there may be disbursements which are not included in the above fee ranges. In an employment litigation matter the most common disbursements are for barrister’s fees. Barrister’s fees tend to be in the region of £1,500 – £3,000 per day. We will however guide you on this as and when external costs may need to be incurred.

Other costs to consider

Normally you do not have to pay your opponent’s costs in an employment claim. We will guide you further if we feel that you are at risk of this at any stage or if we feel you can make an application for your costs to be met by your opponent.

How long will my case take?

The time it takes from your initial instructions to the end of your case depends largely on the stage at which it is resolved, and the dates provided to us by the employment tribunal. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim discussions, your case is likely to take 3 – 4 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take 6 -12 months. This is just an illustration, and we will be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information from you and as the case progresses.