Claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal
Usually these claims are brought in the Industrial Tribunal sitting in Manchester and must be brought within a period of 3 months from the date of dismissal, unless the matter has been referred to Acas, and they have given a Certificate, when the unused time is suspended until Acas have issued their certificate.
As an alternative, proceedings for damages can be brought in the County Court, but the procedure is different and it is very rare. It may be more difficult to obtain a judgment as they do not have the same experience of these case as the Employment Tribunal has. Cost risk is also to be considered and if lost the claim could prove expensive.
There is no Legal Aid available for these cases and you will be expected to fund the same from your own resources. We must request payment of a substantial amount before we can commence, with an arrangement to pay further monies by instalments (if necessary) before the date of the hearing. It is difficult to estimate the total amount of the cost you are likely to incur. They are charged on the hourly rate recommended by the government for Preston Area which is
presently £255 per hour, but you should check with us as it changes from time to time.
Our minimum estimate for bringing or defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are as follows:-
Simple Case – £5,000
Complex Case – £9,500
Very Complex Case – £15,000
Factors which could make a case complex would be such as litigants in person, number of Witnesses and documents, involvement of experts and barristers, length of hearings, adjournments and attempts to settle matters, involvement of Acas or professional mediator etc.
It is impossible to estimate what the disbursements or other expenses would be but the following could be incurred:-
› Fees to the Tribunal or Courts,
› Expert witnesses
› Barristers fees
› Investigation fees of third parties or for supply of documents
› Travel and disbursements
› If Mediation the mediators fee
An indication of some of the aspects our work will cover is:-
› taking instructions, discussing the case and advising you
› exploring whether a settlement can be reached and assisting pre-claim conciliation
› preparing and considering a schedule of losses
› Preparing a claim or response, then filing the same with the Tribunal
› Taking witness statement, preparing list of issues and chronology statement.
› Attending any preliminary hearing and
› Preparation and attending hearing with Counsel if required.
You may wish to handle the claim yourself in order to save costs, when we could assist with you with advice at each stage for reduced fees. This can be arranged to your individual needs.
If your claim proceeds to a hearing it is likely to take between 26 to 52 weeks for a conclusion.