Brecher’s Employment Law Team have significant experience in the Employment Tribunal, and with a wide range of claims including unfair or wrongful dismissals (as well as whistleblowing and discrimination cases).
If you are facing these difficult circumstances where you may have a claim, or are defending such a claim, and wish to instruct us, this document sets out costs information for making and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal before the Employment Tribunal in England and Wales.
Estimate of costs
We charge based on an hourly rate which varies depending on the member of staff dealing with your matter. All fees, costs and disbursements referred to in this document attract VAT (currently 20%) but are set out exclusive of VAT. Our lowest hourly rate is £175, and our highest hourly rate is £550. The seniority of the members of staff dealing with your case will depend on its complexity. We will discuss this with you when you instruct us.
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are:
- Simple case
£12,000 – £30,000 (for a one day hearing) - Medium complexity case
£30,000 – £60,000 (for a hearing that lasts two or three days) - High complexity case
£60,000 or more (for a hearing that lasts four days or more)
Please note: no cases are alike, and the above figures are a result of much speculation on our behalf without knowing or understanding any of the facts or legal issues present in the relevant claim. These estimates may be lower or higher depending on the circumstances of your case. We can provide more precise and personalised information if you reach out to us directly and would urge you to do so.
Factors that could make a case more complex:
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
- Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
- Making or defending a costs application
- Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
- The number of witnesses and documents
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if the employee made a protected disclosure
- Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal
Generally, we will not be able to accept instructions on a ‘no win no fee’ (conditional fee arrangement) basis. If we do offer such a retainer, we will set out our terms and conditions (including our clawback rate) prior to entering such arrangement.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
In addition, if you would like to instruct Counsel (a barrister) to represent you at a hearing, Counsel’s fees will be payable by you on top of our fees. Before instructing Counsel, we will seek estimates of costs and get your agreement. Counsel’s rates vary widely depending on their experience and seniority.
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (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 a claim or response
- Reviewing and advising on a claim or response from other party
- Exploring settlement and negotiating any settlement throughout the process
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
- Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses
- Preparing any bundle of documents
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- 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 and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.
How long will my matter take?
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take up to six weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing in the Employment Tribunal, your case is likely to take at minimum 18 months to 2 years (this is due to the significant back logs in the Employment Tribunal). This is just an estimate, and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.
This document was last updated in March 2026.
