Employment Tribunal Costs for Employers

Newtons' guide to approximate employment tribunal costs and timescales.

Going through an employment tribunal can be stressful and time-consuming. Our dedicated team offer comprehensive and efficient employment legal support to any employer needing to defend a claim. Most cases are settled without needing an employment tribunal hearing; however, we are always here to offer sound legal advice and guidance if you require it.

While we would always advise you to contact the office and speak to a team member to obtain more detailed employment tribunal costs and timescale estimates specific to your case, we have put together a guide to the average costs of employment tribunals for employers. This guide is designed to help you prepare for a tribunal and understand your budget.

What is an employment tribunal, and do you need a solicitor?

An employment tribunal is a legal body that arbitrates disputes between employers and employees, typically concerning employment rights and regulations. Tribunals are usually less formal than traditional courts, meaning you are not strictly required to have a solicitor.

However, the process still involves the preparation and delivery of witness testimonies and legal arguments, and the decisions made by employment tribunals are based on interpretation of the law, and are legally binding. Indeed, they offer a setting to resolve a wide variety of employment law disputes, including discrimination, breach of contract, and unfair dismissal.

Navigating employment law is complicated, and can be overwhelming for individuals going it alone. As such, choosing to instruct a solicitor can be immensely beneficial in this process, especially as employers and employees must still comply with all the legal regulations even if they are unrepresented.

What is the total cost of an employment tribunal for an employer?

Whilst there is no court fee in the employment tribunal for bringing or defending a claim, the cost of acquiring the support of an expert legal representative can vary depending on what you are claiming or defending against.

After an initial meeting and review of the available papers, the Newtons team will usually be able to specify an estimated range for the total cost of defending employment tribunal claims.

The total employment tribunal costs for defending the claim from start to finish are likely to be within one of the following bands:

• Simple case: £4,500-£8,000 (plus VAT)
• Medium complexity case: £8,000-£17,000 (plus VAT)
• High complexity case: £17,000-£30,000 (plus VAT)

Sometimes, employers want to deal with some of the work themselves. In these cases, our employment tribunal costs will be lower to reflect the amount of the work that we complete.

If you are a member of a professional or trade organisation or have legal expenses insurance, you may be able to use Newtons without paying some or all of the legal costs.

Our employment tribunal fee estimates are based on the time likely to be spent on a matter, using the charge-out rates applicable to the solicitors doing the work. If we quote you a fixed fee or a range of fees, we will not exceed that amount for the work it covers. If you ask us to do extra work, we will give you a figure when we know what is involved.

What do the employment tribunal claim costs cover?

The employer tribunal costs set out above cover all the work within the following key stages of a claim:

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this will likely be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation, which (in most cases) is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
• Preparing the response to the claim / reviewing and advising on the response from the other party.
• Exploring settlement and negotiating 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 on a bundle of documents.
• Taking witness statements, drafting statements, and agreeing their content with witnesses.
• Preparing the bundles of documents.
• Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
• Agreeing on a list of issues, a chronology and/or a cast list.
• Preparing and attending the final hearing or preparing instructions to Counsel to represent you at the final hearing.

What are disbursements regarding employment tribunal costs?

Disbursements are employer tribunal costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. Our solicitors handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Depending on the case and your preferences, it may be more cost-effective for one of our solicitors to represent you at the hearing or for us to arrange for a barrister to represent you instead.

If you use a barrister, their fees will likely be between £1,000 and £2,000 per day (plus VAT) for attending a tribunal hearing (including preparation). There will be a reduction in our fees of a similar amount unless you decide we should attend the hearing as well as the barrister.

There are unlikely to be any other disbursements (apart from travel expenses) in relation to attending any hearings.

What could increase the cost of the employment tribunal for the employer?

A complex case will result in higher employment tribunal claim costs for employers. Here are some of the factors which are likely to increase the complexity of a case:

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim.
• Making or defending a costs application.
• Complex preliminary issues, such as whether the claimant is disabled (if the parties have not agreed on this).
• The number of witnesses and documents.
• If it is a claim which may qualify as an automatic unfair dismissal, e.g., the employee is dismissed after blowing the whistle on their employer.
• Allegations of discrimination or other matters which are linked to the dismissal.
• If the case needs more than a one-day hearing at the employment tribunal.

How long will the employment tribunal claim process take?

The time 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 will likely take anywhere between two and 12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take 20 to 30 weeks (and, in some cases, significantly longer still, dependent on how long it takes the Tribunal to list your hearing).

Remember, these are just estimates. We will be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses. Please request a callback from one of our solicitors to start a conversation about employer tribunal costs when convenient to you.

Are there additional employment tribunal costs if you appeal against the decision?

If either party is dissatisfied with the employment tribunal’s decision, they may be able to ask the tribunal to review it or appeal against it. Although appeals against decisions are rare, they will involve extra costs. Currently, an appeal fee of £55 would apply per judgment, and there would of course be additional legal costs too. Any estimate would be based on the nature of your appeal and the work likely to be involved, but our solicitors will be happy to discuss employment tribunal appeal costs with you if you request a callback.