Information on Fees
SRA TRANSPARENCY RULES
My firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority which requires publication of certain information to achieve transparency. Before undertaking any work for a client I also send a more detailed ‘client care’ letter which contains information specific to work I am undertaking per client.
Rule 1- Costs
We only provide employment law advice, and our structure is quite simple. All figures below are net of VAT.
- Settlement Agreements- we offer a ‘fixed fee’ service based on the amount the employer agrees to pay, normally set out in an offer letter from your employer or the agreement itself typically, £250, £350 or £500. This includes advice and assistance on the agreement and any reasonable negotiations (a few calls or emails). The invoice is sent to your employer and you do not pay it (except in some circumstances where the Agreement refers to the payment for legal fees being made to the employee who then pays us).
- General advice & assistance- you may be an employer or an employee who needs help at some stage with an ongoing dispute in which case we charge an hourly rate: £300 for preparation and attendances and £30 for standard letters and calls. Generally, bills for this kind of work are between £500 and £1000 but can be more if there are lots of documents and a variety of issues.
- Drafting contracts etc. – drafting a basic contract normally costs £500. More complex documents can be between £1000 and £1500.
- Tribunal representation- over 90% of my cases settle so you in most cases your fees should be less than the indications below. If you help with the preparation of the case (eg: preparing a chronology cross-referencing the documents and sorting the documents into date order and removing copies) the bill can be much less. The general costs per stage are:
- Reading documents and advising on merits- 2 hours- £600.
- Drafting your Claim or Defence- 3 hours- £900.
- Preparing statements- 4 hours- £1200.
- General communications/tribunal and other party- 4 hours- £1200.
- Representation at hearing- £1000 per day plus a brief fee (if counsel is used)
A typical tribunal case can cost between £7,000 and £10,000 but more complex ones can be in excess of this.
- Legal training- I tend to charge £750 for half a day and £1500 for a full day.
Please note
Some cases are dealt with in a couple of hours, but some can be much more complex. This can be affected by: How angry the parties are, the amounts of documents or legal complexity. Sometimes unfortunately, inefficiencies at the tribunal can also add to this (for example if they do not properly manage difficult parties). You will be billed regularly, which will be an opportunity to look at the funding aspects and to discuss if you want to discuss ways of reducing the legal costs (eg: settlement discussions, your undertaking part of the preparation, dropping less meritorious parts of the case/admissions etc.).
In each case I will discuss with you ways to achieve your goal as efficiently as possible including early offers to discuss a negotiated settlement and finding singular points which can be deployed in correspondence or applications for deposits and strike out. An obvious way to lower costs is to manage the resentment and anger and pursue legal solutions which are more neutral.
With companies, appointing one person (normally HR) to deal with me saves unnecessary duplication.
Rule 2- Complaint information
You will be sent a client care letter which includes details on how to complain. Here it is:
- Concerns, my invoices & the Legal Ombudsman
I am committed to providing high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about the bill, please contact me by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by post heading your note ‘complaint’, setting out the following:
o The date when the problem occurred
o Key facts, in ‘bullet point’ format
o How you would like to resolve matters
I will then acknowledge your complaint in writing, normally (except where I am abroad) within 4 working days. If I can resolve the complaint with you direct, I will record the outcome in writing.
If this is not possible and, if appropriate, your complaint will then be referred to an independent complaints handler for investigation. They will consider your heads of complaint, along with the available evidence to provide an objective view. They will do this within fourteen days. In all but exceptional circumstances I will act upon the advice given by the independent complaints handler and will write to you confirming the final position on your complaint.
If you are still not satisfied, the next step is for you to contact the Legal Ombudsman by the following methods:
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Overseas: +44 12 245 3050
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In writing: PO Box 15870, Birmingham, B30 9EB
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
You will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from me about your complaint or within a year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or you becoming aware of it).
Rule 4: Regulatory Information
I am authorised and regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA). You can contact the SRA via its website: www.sra.org.uk or on 0370 606 2555
My Firm’s Registration Number is 563698.
My role number is 160967.