Our range of costs for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are as follows;-

Simple case: £4500-£7000 (excluding VAT)

Medium complexity case: £7000-£10,500 (excluding VAT)

High complexity case: £10,000-£25,000 (excluding VAT)

Factors that could make a case more complex:

• If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
• Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
• Making or defending a costs application
• Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
• The number of witnesses and documents
• If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer
• Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £550 to £900 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 3-7 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel/Advocate’s fees estimated between £550 to £950 per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of 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)
• Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
• Preparing claim or response
• Reviewing and advising on claim or response from 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 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 the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs. We can also work under a Damaged Based agreement at 28% of any damages or settlement received. However, we need to carry out prior assessment (within 2 days of receiving all relevant documents) before entering into such agreement and until then fees are payable at an hourly rate of from £299 per hour. Where there is an agreement in place and the client fails to provide reasonable instructions or refuse to accept a reasonable offer of settlement then our whole fees become payable at an hourly rate of whatever amount that was set out in the agreement.

How long will my matter take?

The time that 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 is likely to take 12 – 18 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 12 – 26 weeks. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

lmmigration

Below is an explanation of how we charge for many of the services we provide in the area of Immigration and Nationality.  Our charges will vary depending on the complexity of each case.  We are committed to being transparent and open about the cost of our advice to clients.  This means we will always keep you fully informed of the likely cost to you of any advice/service as your case progresses.

One-off Consultation

The charge for this service is £275 – £450 not including VAT or interpreting, where relevant, depending upon the seniority of lawyer you are seeking to consult.

Application Checker

The charge for this service is £350 – £550 excluding VAT, interpreting costs and other disbursements, the range relates to the seniority of lawyer you wish to consult.

Immigration Applications for Leave to remain/enter

Application for leave to remain

Hourly rate: £299

On average, this type of work takes between 8-10 hours to complete. This means that on average costs are between £1750.00 and £2500. All figures include VAT unless specifically stated.

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

• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider
• Which language(s) you speak
• Whether you are applying with other dependants

If you are able to provide sufficient evidence at our first meeting and clearly meet the applicable Immigration Rules, the cost is likely to be at the lower end of this range.

The work will involve:

• discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate application for you to make and what other options may be available to you;
• giving you advice about the requirements of the Immigration Rules and whether you meet the criteria.
• if you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how, which on average takes 2 hours;
• considering the supporting evidence you have provided, which we anticipate will take 1 to 2 hours*;
• where necessary, helping you obtain further evidence (such as medical records and bank statements), including taking statements of any witnesses;
• preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf, which we anticipate will take 4 hours;
• Attendance at a Home Office interview: if the Home Office ask you to attend an interview, we will give you clear advice (and discuss the possibility of us attending with you) at the appropriate time. This could be between 2 and 3 hours of work.
• giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take.

The amount of hours depends on the number of documents, whether they need to be translated, whether anything is missing and how long it will take to obtain the missing documents Disbursements (not included in costs set out above):

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as visa fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

• Interpreter’s fees at £55.00 per hour. This kind of application will normally require between 2-3 hours with an interpreter, depending on the complexity of your case.
• Independent expert reports e.g. medical experts. These are not required in many cases: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary.
• If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses.

The costs quoted here do not include:

• Any Home Office fees for making the application. You will pay this to the Home Office directly as part of the application process.
• Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal

We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. However, the current Home Office processing time for straightforward applications is 8 weeks. We will normally be able to submit this type of application within 2 weeks of you instructing us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this.

Please note 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.

Immigration Appeals

If you wish to instruct this firm to represent you in your appeal at either the First Tier or Upper Tribunal level, our fees start at £299 per hour not including VAT, court fees, barrister/advocate’s fees.  It should be noted that we offer in-house advocacy services which will normally mean our clients do not have to pay separately for representation at court.

We are unlikely to be in a position to adequately represent a client at an immigration appeal for less than £3250.00. If we are contacted for the first time prior to the appeal then the cost is likely to be £3250.00-£5000.00.  These are approximate figures and the actual cost will depend on the facts in each individual case as well as the seniority of the lawyer who is acting.

Second Stage of Immigration Appeals

If you wish to instruct this firm to represent you in your appeal at either the First Tier or Upper Tribunal level, our fees for this stage of representation are charged at £350 per hour not including VAT or disbursements (this means that court fees, interpreting fees, barrister’s fees, and any other disbursements are not included in the rate).  The overall cost of representing a client in a deportation appeal can vary enormously and will normally depend on how much preparatory work has been made depending on the complexity of the case and will normally include a prison or detention centre visit for an initial consultation.  Please note that this cost does not include VAT or disbursements (for example, translation costs, travel costs etc). We will be in a better position to provide you with an estimate of the costs of the case after our first meeting.

Judicial Review and Higher Court Work

Our fees range from £375 – £450 per hour (not including VAT, court fees, barrister/advocate’s fees or other disbursements) depending on the complexity of the case and seniority of solicitor.

If you are not sure whether there is merit in your case, you are welcome to instruct us to provide you with an assessment as to the merits of your case and whether it is worth pursuing.