Employment law for you

Employment law for you

Rix & Kay’s dedicated Employment Law Team has a wealth of experience of supporting senior employees, directors and individuals through a wide range of employment issues where the law is often complex. In particular, our Team specialise in advising you through settlement agreements, employment disputes and dismissals post termination restrictions/restrictive covenant issues and bringing Employment Tribunal claims.

Our outstanding reputation of providing employment law advice to businesses means we have a detailed understanding of employer/employee dynamics and, of course, the law that governs the two. This invaluable insight, and ability to assess both sides of the coin, allows us to provide expert, pragmatic and robust advice which is also financially beneficial for our clients.

Employment law for you – areas of expertise

• Senior level employee and director disputes and terminations
• Employment tribunal claims
• Settlement agreements
• Restrictive covenants and defending claims
• Disciplinary & grievances
• Redundancy and restructures
• Breach of contract
• Discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• Sickness absence and mental ill-health
• Menopause
• Employment status & IR35
• Whistleblowing
• Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR)
• Flexible / Agile / Hybrid Working
• Parental Law Rights

Representation at Employment Tribunal

The team has an outstanding working relationship with Counsel (barristers) who can, where appropriate, assist in the bringing of the case and who attend at the hearing to represent clients. It is often more cost-effective for Counsel to be briefed and represent clients at a hearing. At the client’s request, we can attend the hearing to accompany them and the barrister and to be on-hand if required.

Mediation

Where appropriate, the team will explore mediation options available to clients before advising on bringing a claim in the Tribunal and throughout the duration of the matter. The Team is often able to achieve resolution without the need to progress matters in the Employment Tribunal, saving clients significant cost and undue stress.

Any potential Claimant is required to commence the Acas Early Conciliation Process. This can also be commenced by a potential Defendant if applicable, before they are permitted to issue a claim in the Employment Tribunal.

Employment Tribunal costs

Rix & Kay aim to provide a completely flexible approach to pricing. We want to agree what works best for you and ensure that our costs are transparent and easy to understand.

We believe the only way to do this is by discussing your case with you in detail so that we can provide an accurate scope of work and a fee estimate based on the complexity of the case and the time it is likely to take to represent your interests in the Employment Tribunal. This is central to our commitment to delivering outstanding value for money to our clients.

Below we have provided clear guidance in respect of the cost of our Employment Tribunal work and what factors are likely to impact on the complexity or cost of your case.

We will always agree the cost of our work at the outset. We will provide you with an estimate based on our agreed hourly fee rates and resource arrangements. If during the course of the work, we think the cost estimate is likely to change, then we will discuss this with you immediately before agreeing how we progress.

Service quality

We are committed to delivering outstanding value for money. Underpinning this is our commitment to making the way we deliver our services as easy and accessible as they can possibly be.

This means reducing the amount of effort you have to go to when using our services and covers things as simple as being able to talk to your dedicated lawyer whenever you need to (in person, by telephone or by email), not being transferred from person to person when you call us, and understanding your issue first time so you don’t have to explain things more than once.

Appearing at the Employment Tribunal can be a daunting and often stressful experience. We support our client through every step of the process, not just in the Employment Tribunal but from the very moment you instruct us.

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims in an Employment Tribunal

The fee earner working on your case will charge at their hourly rate and record their time for undertaking the work involved. We base our charges on the time spent. We divide one hour into ten blocks of six minutes to record the time spent on your case.

The hourly rates consist of:

• Partner: From £340 to £365 + 20% VAT
• Associate/Senior Solicitor/Senior Legal Executive: £320 + 20% VAT
• Solicitor: From £250 to £290 + 20% VAT
• Trainees/Paralegals: £195 + 20% VAT

The estimated pricing fee consists of:

• Simple case: between £3,000 and £8,000 + 20% VAT
• Medium complexity case: between £8,000 and £15,000 + 20% VAT
• High complexity case: between £15,000 and £60,000.00 + 20% VAT

Who will undertake your work?

Our approach to delivering outstanding client service centres on all our work being led by a dedicated lawyer who is assigned to manage your transaction. You will have direct access to your dedicated lawyer who is also supported by a wider team of other professionals and support staff within the firm’s Employment Team.

All our clients benefit from this wider team approach that will comprise of the following individuals:

• Partner
• Associate/Senior Solicitor/Senior Legal Executive (supervised by Partner)
• Solicitor/Trainee/Paralegal (supervised by Partner/Associate/Senior Solicitor/Senior Legal Executive)

What is included in our fees?

The following is a list of the key stages of a claim and we expect that some or all of these will be covered in our work:

• 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 is subject to change)
• Entering early conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached and drafting of COT3 documentation
• Preparing claim or response
• Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process and drafting of COT3 documentation upon settlement
• Preparing or considering a Schedule of Loss
• Preparing for a Preliminary Hearing, to deal with issues in the claim and to provide dates for the rest of the hearing, which may be able to take place by telephone and arranging for Counsel to represent the client if required
• 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
• Agreeing a list of issues and a chronology
• Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel

The stages set out above provide a guideline of the typical stages involved. It might be that your matter does not entail all of these stages and it might be that some of the stages are more complex or long-running on your matter as each claim is unique.

Factors that could make an Employment Tribunal 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 or multi-party actions
• 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 and number of days listed for hearing
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if an employee is dismissed after whistleblowing on their employer
• If the dismissal is for a reason connected with a business transfer and/or insolvency
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

What happens if my hearing requires additional days in Tribunal?

Once we fully understand the complexity of your case, we are likely to have a good understanding as to whether you may require additional days in Tribunal and we will, of course, discuss all options available to you. As a guide, costs for attending additional days at a Tribunal Hearing are in accordance with our fee earner hourly charge out rates detailed above and range between £195 + 20% VAT (Paralegal) to £365 + 20% VAT (Partner).

Counsel fees

Counsel’s fees for attending a full Tribunal Hearing (including preparation) are estimated between £2,500 to £7,500 (+ 20% VAT) depending on the level and experience of the barrister. In the event that the hearing is in excess of 1 day, a further daily rate shall be charged, estimated between £750 to £2,500 (+ 20% VAT).

How long will my matter take?

The length of 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 and the Employment Tribunal’s availability to hear the case. If a settlement is reached during the initial Acas Early Conciliation Process your case is likely to take one to two months. Despite the fact that the initial Early Conciliation Process can be “closed” by Acas, both parties are able to continue negotiating through Acas even up to the point of the hearing day.

If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to last eight to 24 months. 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. It is also subject to the Employment Tribunal’s availability to list your matter.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as obtaining a medical report fees or Counsel’s fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

There is an additional fee of £14.50 (inc 20% VAT) to carry out anti money laundering checks, a requirement for all clients of Rix & Kay to prevent financial risk to you and the firm.

There will be an additional charge for a paralegal or HR advisor attending a Tribunal Hearing from £2,500 per day (+ 20% VAT) where we are required to attend in person else calculated in accordance with their hourly rate if the hearing is held remotely/CVP

Useful resources

• Read through our Employment law blog for helpful guidance on what to expect and your next steps
• Watch our webinars, vlogs or podcasts

Contact us

If you have any employment issues or concerns then please contact Elaine Abbs, Solicitor in Rix & Kay’s Employment Team. e elaineabbs@rixandkay.co.uk t. 01732 441125.