Our Pricing
Clear and Simple
In accordance with the transparency in price and service framework issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), please click on the button below to find out information on pricing in relation to Employment and Debt Recovery services.
Employment Pricing
Where you opt to pay privately for us to handle your claim, our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:
- Simple Case - £3,000 - £6,000 (excluding VAT)
- Medium Complexity Case - £6,000 - £10,000 (excluding VAT)
- High Complexity Case - £10,000 - £15,000 (excluding VAT)
Factors that could make a claim more complex include (not an exhaustive list):
- The number and/or intricacies of witnesses and supporting documents.
- If a matter includes allegations of discrimination connected to the dismissal.
- If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim including, for example, a claim for dismissal relating to family related reasons (such as pregnancy, maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave) or dismissal relating to whistleblowing.
- If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim.
- If there is more than one Respondent
- If it is necessary to make or defend a costs application.
- If a matter involves defending claims that are brought by litigants in person.
- If a matter involves complex preliminary issues, such as evidencing a disability where this is not agreed or is otherwise contested by the parties.
There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £750 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 1 to 3 days depending on the complexity of your case.
Many of our clients have the benefit of legal expenses insurance. It is sometimes provided as part of the buildings/contents insurance policy or professional association.
We can help you submit an application to your insurer to cover our legal fees for acting on your behalf. As soon as we sign the insurance agreement with your insurers, funding will be in place. The benefit of insurance cover is that you will get to keep 100% of your damages or settlement.
Alternatively, we will agree to a fixed fee with you for necessary work and we will not go beyond this fixed fee without your agreement.
Where there is no legal expense insurance and no fixed fee agreement in place, it may be possible to enter into a Damages Based Agreement (DBA) with us whereby you agree to pay 35% of the damages you win (or the settlement reached) plus payment of any disbursements incurred on your behalf. A DBA will protect you from having to pay legal fees in the event you do not win or successfully settle your claim. Where it is necessary to assess the viability of a case before determining the suitability of a DBA as a funding method, we will aim to do so within 10 working days. We will of course explain all the options available to you to ensure complete transparency from the outset.
Disbursements are costs relating to your matter that are essentially payable to third parties such as counsel or medical fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Counsel fees (where applicable. i.e. if it is necessary to appoint Counsel to attend a Tribunal Hearing) will vary based on the experience of the advocate and amount of preparation involved. Generally, we would estimate fees to be between £500.00 and £1,500 (excluding VAT).
Travel & Accommodation may be payable depending on which Tribunal venue your hearing is listed for and how many days it is listed for. Travel costs will be the cost of a return train fare from Chesterfield/Sheffield to the Tribunal venue and accommodation will usually cost in the region of £70-£100 per night.
The fees set out above cover all work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
- Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation level. Any preliminary advice on merits and potential settlement figures will be subject to change and ongoing review as the case progresses.
- Advising on and supporting the pre-claim conciliation process.
- Preparing a claim or response on your behalf.
- Reviewing and advising on a claim or response from the other party.
- Exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
- Preparing or considering a schedule of loss
- Preparing for (and attending, as appropriate) a preliminary hearing.
- Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
- Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing content of statements.
- Preparing bundles and documents, as appropriate.
- Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
- Agreeing a list of issues and preparing relevant chronologies.
- Preparation and attendance at final hearing and/or instructing Counsel.
The stages listed above are by no means exhaustive and are provided as an illustration only. Equally, in the event that some of the stages are not required (i.e. you may decide to handle certain stages yourself or certain elements may not be necessary) the fee will of course be reduced.
The duration of your case from the point you provide instructions through to conclusion will largely depend on the stage at which your case is resolved. For example, if a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 1 to 5 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing, your case is likely to take 6 to 12 months. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to provide a more accurate timescale as the matter progresses.
Danielle Wright
Danielle is an Associate Solicitor and has specialised in employment law and HR for 19 years. Having completed her Legal Practice Course at the College of Law Chester in 2003, Danielle started her legal career as an employment law consultant and later qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. Having completed the Practical Skills Course, Danielle enrolled as a Solicitor in November 2017.
Hannah Riley
Hannah Riley, a Paralegal within our Employment Law Team, has day to day conduct of employment cases. Hannah joined Spencers after successfully graduating with a Law Degree in 2015 and has a demonstrable background in delivering exceptional client care, a flair for research, and a methodical approach to progressing both contentious and non-contentious employment cases.
Hannah can be contacted on 01246 266678 or by email on hannah.riley@SpencersSolicitors.com.
The person with overall supervisory responsibility for the work is Robert Landman in his capacity as Managing Director.
Debt Recovery
Our pricing for pursuing an undisputed debt.
These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed (and enforcement action is not needed) and effectively covers one letter, referred to as a “letter before action” plus the cost of sending the payment onto you (if applicable) once paid.
Debt Owed | Our Fee |
---|---|
Up to £1,000 | £60 + VAT |
£1,001 to £10,000 | £90 + VAT |
£10,000+ | £150 + VAT |
The following additional costs apply where the debt is not paid within the required timescale [typically 14 days] and where you instruct us to draft proceedings and issue a claim on your behalf.
Debt Owed | Our Fee | + Court Fee | Costs recoverable from the debtor (Court Fee + Fixed Costs) |
---|---|---|---|
Up to £1,000 | £100 + VAT | £35 to £70 | £75 to £130 |
£1,001 to £10,000 | £160 + VAT | £80 to £455 | £150 to £510 |
£10,001 to £100,000 | £250 + VAT | 5% of claim value | Court Fee + £100 |
£100,000 to £200,000 | £350 + VAT | 5% of claim value | Court Fee + £100 |
You should be aware that 1) the VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the debtor and 2) interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding with a higher cost.
The following additional costs apply where no acknowledgement of service or defence is received and where you instruct us to apply to the court to enter judgement in your favour. The following fees include applying for the judgment and writing to the other party to request payment.
Debt Owed | Our Fee |
---|---|
Up to £10,000 | £200 + VAT |
£10,000+ | £300 + VAT |
In the event the claim is defended, we will advise you of your options and costs involved in continuing with the claim. If you instruct us to proceed, additional costs will range from £250 to £1000.
The following additional costs apply where payment is not received and you instruct us to proceed with enforcement action.
Enforcement Action | Our Fee | Court Fee |
---|---|---|
An order that the debtor to attend court for questions | £75 + VAT | Court Fee £55 + Process Server's Fee |
High Court Bailiff | £75 + VAT | Court Fee £110 Bailiff Fee £75 + VAT |
Attachment of Earnings Order | £75 + VAT | Court Fee £110 |
Third Party Debt Order | £75 + VAT Representation at court approximately £300 |
Court Fee £110 |
Charging order on debtor's property | Charged on fixed fee basis based on the circumstances of the debt owed | Court Fee £110 HMLR Fee £40 |
Matters usually take 3 - 12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether it is necessary to issue a claim. This assumes the other side pays promptly on receipt of the letter before action or on receipt of the judgment. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will naturally take longer to resolve but we will keep you updated on timescales as the matter progresses.
Jessica Eyre
Jessica Eyre, Team Manager and Associate member of CILEx, has day to day conduct of debt recovery cases and oversees the provision of debt services within the team. Jessica is an experienced Manager, skilled negotiator and advocate of best practice across all aspects of case management. Jessica has extensive litigation experience gained from working with a wide range of businesses and individuals since 2004.
Jessica can be contacted on 01246 266667 or by email on Jessica.Eyre@SpencersSolicitors.com.
Lindsey Ralley
Lindsey Ralley, Loss Recovery Litigator, has day to day delegated conduct of debt recovery cases. Lindsey is a skilled Litigator with over 15 years of experience working with large fleet clients, businesses and individuals. Lindsey is very client focused and pro-active in her approach to recovering losses in the timeliest way.
Lindsey can be contacted on 01246 266609 or by email on Lindsey.Ralley@SpencersSolicitors.com.
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