No Win No Fee Employment Work:
If we agree to take the case on for you we shall work for you on a no win no fee basis, on an interim basis at least, on the basis that if you are successful, by which we mean you recover an amount by way of settlement or award from your opponent or a tribunal respectively, we shall accept a fixed fee of up to 30% of any such award plus VAT. This is working on the basis of our hourly rates being applied to the amount of work done, set to a maximum limit of 30% of any such award plus VAT. This will not apply if you withdraw from the case against our advice and/or agreement . We reserve the right to review the funding throughout the case.
A disbursement is a fee or any other charge that we have paid out of our account on your behalf. With an Employment Tribunal there are no longer fees to be paid to issue your case however a disbursement could include other things such as an expert’s fee if the tribunal orders an expert’s report during the course of the procedure or any barrister’s fee(s) when the barrister does not also act on a CFA basis. If your case is at a stage where it is to be issued at the Tribunal we will discuss the fees which are likely to be incurred at that stage and any funding arrangements.
Barristers Fees:
Barristers’ fees are not included in our Base Costs. If it becomes necessary to instruct a barrister, we will discuss with you the choice of barrister and arrangements for payment of the barrister’s fees, including whether the barrister is willing to enter into conditional fee agreement / No Win No Fee agreement. If they are< their fees will be paid from your damages on successful conclusion of the case. If you were to lose then their fees would be written off in accordance with the No Win No Fee. All fees will be discussed before instructions are sent and the cost discussed with the Barristers Clerk and agreed before instruction. FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT we are unable to offer advocacy for hearings and so that does not form part of this agreement and third Partys must be instructed for advocacy at all hearings interim and Final.
Barristers who do not have a conditional fee agreement with us
We may not be able to find a suitable barrister who is willing to act on CFA / No Win No Fee or you may decide that you do not wish to pay a success fee to the barrister. If so, it will be necessary to instruct the barrister on the basis that you are liable to pay their fee in full, Win or Lose.
- If you Win, you will remain liable to pay their fees in full.
- If you Lose, you must pay the barrister’s fees in full.
Of course, should you not be successful, we do not get paid and our professional charges are waived, subject to you having reasonably co-operated with us and provided us with accurate and truthful instructions.
The other disbursements ( discussed above) may however remain payable if the barrister / provider is not acting on a no win no fee these fees will remain payable on a private basis by you.
On average costs for a barrister to represent in an Employment Tribunal at a 1 – 3 day hearing range from £3000 – £6000 but would be discussed prior to instruction and agreed by the Claimant and can vary depending on the complexity of the case and experience of the Barrister instructed.
Private Retainers:
Should you wish to instruct us on a private basis the hourly rate for fee earners is as follows:
Grade of Fee Earner
a. Grade A (Solicitor with 8 years + Post Qualification Experience) – £350.00 per hour.
b. Grade B (Solicitor/Legal Executive with 4 – 8 years Post Qualification Experience) – £250.00 per hour.
c. Grade C (Solicitor/Equivalent with up to 4 years Post Qualification Experience) – £161 per hour
d. Grade D (Trainee Solicitor/Paralegal/Equivalent) – £118 per hour.
We add VAT, at the rate that applies when the work is done, to the total of the basic charges. Our VAT Registration Number is 920 3550 58.
We would discuss likely fees at the outset to be agreed. It may also be possible to offer a fixed fee however again this would be discussed on a case by case basis.
Disbursements for barristers / expert fees would be payable in addition to the above fees.
At this firm we have the following Fee Earners who deal with Employment cases:
Nicola Roberts ( Grade A)
Paul Roberts ( Grade A)
Opponents Costs:
In respect of your opponent’s costs, the general rule in tribunals is that it is non-costs bearing interpartes (between the parties). In other words, if you lose, as a general rule of thumb, you do not pay your opponents legal or other fees.
There are some exceptional circumstances in which a tribunal may order costs against a losing party. Please be aware of this. We will advise you if there are any costs threats made by the opponent or if we feel that there is a risk of this as this arises throughout the proceedings.