Fees

Andrea Nicholls’ normal hourly rate ranges between £365 + vat to £425 + vat per hour, chargeable in 6 minute units depending on the nature of the advice sought.  The hourly rates are reviewed on 1 October each year.  Normally on-going matters remain at the rate applicable at the commencement of the advice.

Acting for individuals

• Settlement agreements – often the (ex)-employer contributes towards the fees typically £350 – £500 + vat and if the matter is straightforward the firm will endeavour to cap the fees to this level. More complex matters or matters of a high value may exceed these fees and typically will range from £1,000 – £2,500 + vat.
• Advice on service agreements and restrictive covenants – the fees will vary according to the length and complexity of the agreement but typically will be between £750 – £2,500 + vat.
• Advice on performance – the firm will discuss with the client anticipated fees and where appropriate put in milestones so that the client will be alerted when a certain fee level has been reached.
• Advice on discrimination – the firm will discuss with the client anticipated fees and where appropriate put in milestones so that the client will be alerted when a certain fee level has been reached.
• Employment tribunals and litigation – please refer to section header below

Acting for employers

• Advice on service agreements and restrictive covenants, including drafting – the fees will vary according to the length and complexity of the agreement but typically will be between £1,000 – £3,000 + vat.
• Advice on disciplinary matters – the firm will discuss with the client anticipated fees.
• Advice on discrimination – the firm will discuss with the client anticipated fees.

Employment Tribunals and High Court litigation – please refer to section header below.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to a matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees (no longer applicable in the Employment Tribunal or Employment Appeal Tribunal) expert fees or barristers fees. The firm does not operate a client account and so these would be payable by the client to the third party.

Counsel fees typically can range between £1,500 to £50,000 (plus VAT) per case (depending on experience of the advocate and the number of days the case is listed for) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).  Counsels fees are usually broken down into advice prior to the hearing (if required and normally charged on the counsel’s hourly rate), preparation for the hearing and attendance at the hearing, which is normally a set fee payable in advance or in instalments – called the Brief Fee. If a matter settles before or during a hearing then the full Brief Fee or part of it may still be payable. 

Preliminary hearings are usually at a lower rate than a full hearing as they are shorter, or may be conducted by the firm’s solicitor.

Employment Tribunals and High Court litigation

The following are indicators of potential fees but each matter will depend on whether it is acting for the individual or the employer/company.

• simple case: £8,000 – £15,000 (excluding VAT);
• more complex case: £15,000 – £25,000 (excluding VAT);
• high complexity case: £25,000 – £80,000 (excluding VAT).

Those amounts assume the case is for unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal.

Claims of discrimination or whistle blowing and High Court/appeal courts litigation will often be significantly more.

Other factors which can make a claim more complex to bring or defend are as follows:

• Acting against a litigant in person
• Making or defending applications to amend claims, strike out applications, making or responding to Further and Better Particulars
• Complex preliminary issues
• Claims involving multiple causes of action and/or multiple parties
• Dealing with a costs application
• Number of witnesses
• Volume of evidence

Typical Key Stages in Employment Tribunal claims

The ball park fee estimates above set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

• Taking initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising on merits and likely awards (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.
• Reviewing and 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.
• Conferences with counsel.
• Drafting and 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 of the standard stages in Employment Tribunal and High Court litigation.

Complaints Procedure

I aim to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service I have provided then please inform me immediately, so that I can do my best to resolve the problem. Making a complaint will not affect how I handle your case.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can also help you if you are concerned about my behaviour (for example, if you feel that I have treated, or am treating you, unfairly because of your age, a disability or some other reason).

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

What do to if I cannot resolve your complaint?

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if I am unable to resolve your complaint myself. They will look at your complaint independently and, again, it will not affect how I handle your case. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with me first. If you wish to raise your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, it must be done within the following time scales:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them directly. Their details are:

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ