Employment law fees and information

At the outset of a case, we will give you an estimate for the case based on the particular circumstances of the case at that time for example, whether there are likely to be any preliminary issues to deal with, such as whether the claim is out of time; the likely number of witnesses; and the complexity of the case in terms of the various legal arguments likely to be required.

We aim to be as clear and transparent as possible about our fees, however each case is different. The information below is therefore only a guide and it is recommended that you speak to a member of our team if you have any queries about our charges.

Who will carry out your work?

Your work will be carried out by our qualified solicitors assisted by support staff and will be supervised by Mr. Mohammed Bilal Khan, a solicitor and director of Alliance & Cooper Solicitors.

Our Solicitors are:

Mr. Mohammed Bilal Khan

Solicitor/Director

Practicing as a solicitor since May 2016

Mr. Babatunde Olawale Modupe-Ojo

Solicitors/Consultant

Practicing as a solicitor since February 2018

Our Fees:

Our fees will vary depending on the lawyer carrying out your work and their level of experience. The hourly rates typically vary from £134.00 to £278.00 per hour. This is exclusive of VAT (chargeable at 20% where applicable).

We offer a number of different cost options:

No Win, No Fee

No Win No Fee, also known as a damages-based agreement or conditional fee agreement. This is by far the most popular option. Our standard rate is 25% plus VAT. This means that if we achieve a successful outcome, you keep 70% of the compensation. If there is no money recovered, there are no charges.
Agreed Fee

Agreed Fee. Where prospects of success are less certain or in complex cases it may be appropriate to offer an agreed fee. This is often more appealing to clients than charging an hourly rate for time spent on the case when the final bill can potentially be unlimited. This is similar to a fixed fee. This means that the fee cannot be varied up or down (regardless of the outcome of the matter) and is fixed in nature. Please see below for a guide to our agreed fee rates.
Insurance Cover

Insurance Cover If you have the benefit of legal expenses insurance and your insurer has assessed the prospects of success as good (normally at least 51% prospect of success) they may agree to cover some or all of your legal costs. Insurance normally covers the amount of hours a solicitor works on a case. Disbursements such as barrister’s fees can also sometimes be covered under the policy. If you have any queries concerning insurance cover, you should contact your insurer in the first instance and check your policy

Advising on Settlement Agreements

In cases where you have been offered a settlement agreement, your employer will almost always contribute towards your legal costs. We guarantee that we will not charge more for advising on the terms of the settlement agreement than what your employer is willing to contribute. These costs are normally between £250 to £500 plus VAT.

In addition to advising on the terms of a settlement agreement, we also often negotiate the amount of compensation your employer is willing to pay you. If acting on a no win no fee basis, we typically charge 25% plus VAT of any amount negotiated. As explained above, we also offer the option of an agreed fee to conduct settlement agreement negotiation. Our agreed fee rate is typically £2000-£3500 plus VAT to negotiate settlement agreements.

Employment Tribunal Proceedings

If we have already been acting for you and a settlement has not resulted and tribunal proceedings are necessary, we would need to carry out a case assessment. It may be possible to continue with a No Win No Fee arrangement.

We also accept fresh instructions from clients who we have not acted for in the pre-litigation stage, who have exhausted negotiation with their employer themselves.

If No Win No Fee is not possible, our fees for drafting and filing an Employment Tribunal claim are on average between £1,200 and £2,000 plus VAT.

The fees for progressing the claim and dealing with the rest of the case are on average between £1000 and £2,500 plus VAT.

If a case does not settle outside of the tribunal it may also be necessary to instruct a barrister for the final hearing. The rates for a barrister at a final hearing range from £750 to £2,500 plus VAT per day depending on the barrister’s seniority. This is known as a disbursement.

Key Stages
The fees set out above cover (if applicable) all 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);
- Drafting the claim or response;
- Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the opposing 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 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, 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 altered accordingly.
Timescales

The time it takes to resolve your case is largely out of our control.

If the matter is resolved via a settlement agreement or in the ACAS Early Conciliation stage via an ACAS COT3 agreement, a resolution can often be as quick as a few days or weeks.

If Tribunal proceedings are necessary the case could take anywhere between 2 – 24 months to resolve, depending on the Tribunal listings at the relevant hearing centre. Unfortunately, Employment Tribunals have a long backlog presently, and it is not uncommon for final hearings to be listed as long as 18 months from the submission of the claim.

We will obviously keep you informed of the timescales applicable in your case.
What VAT is charged on fees?

The standard rate of UK VAT is currently 20%. This is charged on our fees as indicated above.
Barrister’s Fees and Disbursements

As indicated above, a barrister may be necessary if your case does not settle and a final hearing is necessary.

We handle disbursements on your behalf but sometimes you may be required to pay them directly to the barrister’s chambers. Please see our fee estimates for barristers charges above.

Barristers fees are the most common disbursement. If there are any other disbursements applicable in your case, we will notify you in advance. Other disbursements applicable, although rare, could include instructing other professionals such as a medical expert or accountant.
What Rate of VAT is Charged on Disbursements?

The standard rate of UK VAT is current 20% as explained above.