Our employment department will endeavour to assist you with the following:

* Contracts of employment

* Unfair dismissal

* Harassment and Victimisation

* Wrongful dismissal

* Constructive Dismissal

* Indirect / Direct discrimination of contract

* Pay rights

* Discrimination (race, age, sex, disability)

Transfer of Undertakings

* Redundancy

Unfair Dismissal and Wrongful Dismissal Cases

Type of fee:

·         Fixed Fee (estimate based on the work involved in conducting the matter)

·         Contingency agreement

·         Private hourly rate agreement

Costs: Costs can be between - £800-£5,000

Hourly Rates:

·         Solicitor - £250

·         Caseworker/Paralegal- £175.

On average, this type of work entails 30 hours of work.

We will inform a client, after an initial paid meeting, whether a case is suitable for a fixed fee agreement or a no-win no fee agreement.

The exact number of hours it will take depends on the circumstances in a case. Such as:

·         The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider.

·         The number of witnesses and complexity of the evidence.

·         The amount of documentation that we have to prepare.

·         The amount of drafting that we have to carry out.

·         The complexity of the case.

·         The amount of negotiations. Including; ACAS negotiations, that we have to carry out.

·         The length of any hearings.

·         Whether there are any preliminary issues.

·         The failure of a client to cooperate with advice

The Costs are likely to be at the lower end range if the case is a free standing wrongful dismissal case or a straight forward unfair dismissal case

Who will carry out the work?

·         Solicitor

·         Caseworker/ Paralegal supervised by a Solicitor.

All the work is supervised by a Principal, who retains ultimate responsibility and conduct of matters

What services are included in this?

Initial attendance at our offices and consideration of the options and assessing most appropriate way forward based on a client’s circumstances.

·         Determining prospect of success and the possible level of damages.

·         Negotiating with ACAS and with the employer.

·         Considering Documents.

·         Drafting ET1 and all Employment Tribunal Documents.

·         Preparing witness statements and bundles

·         Attending hearings.

·         Instructing a barrister if required

·         Considering and advising on Employment Tribunal Documents.

The costs quoted here do not include:

·         Any Employment Tribunal fees.

·         Other expenses where applicable such as travel, payment for copy documents etc..

·         Counsel or expert fees.

·         Employment Tribunal Costs Orders made against a client.

·         Appeal costs.

·         The Enforcement of any order.

We will let you know at the earliest opportunity and before any such fees are incurred by a client, if any of these are applicable.
Time scale:

·         Unfair Dismissal and Wrongful dismissal cases take between 1 month - 1 year from initial instructions.

·         Most cases have an initial time limit of 3 months minus one day to bring a case to an Employment Tribunal.

·         Some wrongful dismissal cases can be brought to the County Court where the time limit is 6 years.

·         The Employment Tribunal may reserve Judgement and list separate remedy hearings, which increase the length of time.

Please note that the anticipated number of hours and fees are an estimate based on the facts above. All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case

We provide the support, advice, assistance and representation you need to secure your employment rights at an Employment Tribunal or arrive at a settlement in a Compromise Agreement.

FEE STRUCTURE FOR EMPLOYMENT WORK

How Will My Employment Case be Funded?
We are open, upfront and honest about all of our Solicitor fees. Our Solicitors have different hourly rates depending on their level of experience. We will discuss about fees at the onset to avoid any surprises.
Funding options are:

·         A Fixed Hourly Rate

·         A Fixed Fee that covers all work

·         Staged Payments

If you are not sure how complicated your case is we can offer you advice and outline the costs involved.
The fixed fees for employment will range from £850-£7,500.  Hearings are charged at £500 per day.  Our hourly rates start from £160-£300. The hourly rate depends on the experience of the fee earner
On Settlement Agreements, employers usually make a contribution to your legal fees, which may be sufficient to cover our costs.
Contingency Agreement
We do take clients on Contingency agreement based on the case assessment whereby we agree with you for a certain percentage of the amount paid to you out of your case. Please contact us to discuss your case and find out how we can help you.

FEE STRUCTURE

We understand that the cost of legal services is an important consideration for our clients.  At Ernest & Co our focus is ensuring that you will get the value for your money as we aim to provide you with good quality services by working efficiently and getting grip of all the key issues right from the onset.

The precise cost will depend on the particular circumstances of your case. Where the application is relatively straightforward it is likely that the fees will be at the lower end of the relevant spectrum. Where there are complex factors, the fees may reach or in some cases exceed the upper end.

We will agree costs with you in advance and are happy to discuss funding options.
 

CONSULTATION FEE

For new clients we offer an initial no obligation one hour, fixed fee diagnostic consultation. The consultation can be in person, by phone or by exchange of email. This is an opportunity for you to seek initial advice on your case, get a second opinion, or gather sufficient information to take the case forward yourself.

The cost of the initial diagnostic consultation for all cases is: £150