EMPLOYMENT LAW

Employment law solicitors in Middlesex

JP Solicitor’s employment solicitors provides specialist employment law advice and dealing with all types of employment matters on behalf of both employers and employees. We are your local employment solicitors in Middlesex.

There is no VAT applicable on all of our fees.

There may be VAT applicable on disbursements at the rate of 20%.

The Employment Law

Advice we offer includes:

Drafting or review of:

Contracts of employment
Employment procedures and policies on discipline, dismissal, grievances, equal opportunities, maternity leave and other matters.

Advice on:

Redundancy, disciplinary and capability issues, working time, variation of terms and conditions of employment, data protection
Unlawful deduction of wages
Post termination restrictions

Dispute resolution:

Negotiating appropriate settlement terms where employment comes to an end
Drafting and advising as to the terms and effect of settlement agreements
Where litigation becomes necessary providing representation in employment tribunal cases concerning all types of claims, including unfair dismissal, breach of contract and discrimination e.g. on the grounds of sex, race, religion or disability

Employment Law Guidance Fees
There is no VAT applicable on all of our fees.

There may be VAT applicable on disbursements at the rate of 20%.

Each matter is unique

Each claim is unique, and this is a guideline only. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the case and when we know the size and likely complexity of the claim and the amount of work involved, we shall then be able to inform you of the likely cost and also time involved. We shall prepare a budget for your case before we commence any proceedings in a tribunal on your behalf.

The fixed fee for 1 hour will be £125.00 ( no VAT). This is in line with the Law Society guidelines.

Each matter is dealt with by an individual fee earner so that you will know who to contact when any queries arise. Our approximate charges are set out below:

Employment

Parveen Gupta – Solicitor of the Courts of England and Wales – admitted October 2006 £226.00 (no VAT) per hour ( the fixed fee for 1 hour will be £125.00 (no VAT) . This is in line with the Law Society guidelines).

Services

1. Initial Interview

Our Standard Fee for an initial assessment of your case is £250.00 (no VAT) and includes:

Discussing the circumstances of your dispute and any potential witness evidence;

Identifying any potential claims you might have against present or former employers /colleagues based on your instructions during the interview.

Providing preliminary advice during the interview on the merits of any potential claim and compensation;

Considering with you the next appropriate steps towards resolving the dispute;

Discussing funding options.

Not included in the Initial Interview Fee: -

Reviewing papers beyond a few pages

Reviewing your case further based on additional information, documentation and evidence provided to us following the initial interview

Any action not outlined above

2. Reviewing Papers

If your dispute has been ongoing for some time there is likely to be a good deal of correspondence between yourself and your employer to consider. You might also have been through a grievance and/or disciplinary process, which will have generated notes of meetings, witness statements and other paperwork. A review of your papers will enable us to advise you as to whether we consider you have sufficient evidence to support your case. Our fees for reviewing your papers are charged at the rate of £226.00 (no VAT) per hour, but where possible we will provide an estimate before undertaking the work.

3. Pre-litigation Action

Depending upon the stage your dispute has reached you might wish us to assist in reaching a resolution in the following ways:

Advising you on the ACAS Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures;

Drafting a Grievance letter detailing your complaint;

Advising you on your approach to a Grievance or Disciplinary hearing;

Corresponding with your Employer on your behalf;

Considering and advising you on the outcome of a Grievance or Disciplinary investigation or hearing;

Drafting a Letter of Appeal against the outcome of a Grievance or Disciplinary hearing;

Notifying the ACAS Early Conciliation Service and providing details of your complaint;

Liaising with ACAS and yourself during the period of negotiation;

Negotiating the terms of a Settlement Agreement

Any of the above work will be charged at a rate of £226.00 (no VAT) per hour and where possible an estimate will be provided before undertaking the work.

In the event that the pre-litigation steps you take fail to reach a satisfactory resolution of your dispute, we will reassess your case based on your employer’s response during the pre-litigation stage and advise you as to the merits of pursuing your claim further.

4. Litigation

In the event you decide to pursue a claim in the Employment Tribunal, this will involve the following steps:

Taking further, detailed instructions about the circumstances of your claim;

Drafting the Claim Form [ET1] which details the nature of the dispute and provides the legal basis of your claim;

Identifying what you hope to achieve by your claim e.g. reinstatement /compensation;

Assessing the potential value of your claim;

Submission of the Claim Form to the Employment Tribunal;

Reviewing the response to your claim by the other party/parties [the ET3;]

Reassessing your claim in view of the ET3;

Preparing a detailed Schedule of loss in support of any compensation you are seeking;

Preparing and attending a Preliminary Hearing which will set a timetable for progressing your claim;

Exchanging documents with the other party/parties and agreeing a bundle of documents;

Interviewing witnesses and drafting their statements;

Exchange of witness statements

Reviewing and advising on your witness statement

Preparation and attendance at the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel (Barrister)

Depending on the circumstances of your case, it may be a simple litigated case or a more complex case.

Our fees for a ‘Simple Case’ include the following: -

1x Claimant & 1 x Respondent (the other party);

Straightforward application of Employment, Equality and Contract Law;

No more than two Claimant’s witnesses and documents are readily accessible and not extensive;

1 x Preliminary Hearing;

Final Hearing of 1 - 2 days;

No preliminary issues

Our fee will range from £4,000 - £8,000 (no VAT).

Not included in the above fee: -

The range of our fees does not include commissioning reports from experts.

Disbursements - these are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Court fees, barristers’ fees & expert’s fees. Any disbursements necessary will be payable in addition to our fees set out above. We handle the payment of Disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

The stages set out above may not all apply to your case. You may wish to instruct us only in relation to some of the stages and deal with the other stages of your case yourself; this can be arranged according to your individual needs. Our fee for any work you instruct us to carry out on your behalf will be charged at the hourly rate of £226.00 (no VAT) per hour.

Cases of Greater Complexity

The following factors could affect the complexity of the case and increase both the work required in its preparation and the length of the Final Hearing:

Multiple Claimants or Respondents

The necessity to make or defend an application to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim;

Preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled, if disputed by the Respondent, or whether the claim was issued in time;

The number of witnesses and documents to be considered;

The amount of investigation required to establish supportive evidence;

The need to commission reports from experts e.g. a Psychiatrist in a stress claim;

Making or defending an application for a cost order;

Allegations of Discrimination, which are linked to a dismissal.

Should any of these factors apply to your case, this will take our fees beyond the range quoted above for a ‘Simple Case,’ the additional work involved will be charged at £226.00 (no VAT) per hour, however we will provide an estimate of our additional fees prior to undertaking any such additional work.

Charges

Fees and charges will be calculated on the time we have spent in dealing with your case. This includes advising, attending on you and your witnesses, if any, dealing with incoming and outgoing correspondence and telephone calls, travelling, waiting, advocacy and preparation times.

Preparation, or time expended in considering and dealing with incoming and outgoing communications such as Routine letters, telephone calls, emails, text messages, faxes both incoming and outgoing will be charged at 1/10th of the hourly rate. Complex and/or longer communications will be charged on the basis of the actual time involved.

Mileage for travelling is charged at a rate of £0.45 (No VAT) per mile.

We will give you an estimate of how much the costs in a particular matter will be.

You may set a limit on the charges and expenses to be incurred. This means that you must pay those charges incurred up to the agreed limit without our needing to refer back to you. We will inform you as soon as it appears that the limit may be exceeded and will not exceed the limit without first obtaining your consent.

Disbursements

All disbursements will need to be paid in addition to the fees charged. These costs are related to your matter which are payable to third parties such as barristers and experts. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Additional Costs

There are number of factors which may increase the costs of the service in any particular matter.

We will inform you if any unforeseen additional work becomes necessary (for example, due to unexpected difficulties or if your requirements or the circumstances significantly change during the course of the mater). We will also inform you of its estimated costs in writing before any extra charge and expenses are incurred. Whilst we would hope that, in such circumstances, you would continue to instruct us, at such a point you would have a right to discontinue your instructions. Whereupon we would cease to act for you.

We will only enter into fee agreements that are legal, and which we consider are suitable for your needs and which take into account your best interests.

Indicative Fees

Our hourly rates will be reviewed on 12th February every year. In addition to the time spent, we may take into account a number of factors which include the complexity of the issues and the speed at which action must be taken, the expertise of the specialist knowledge that the case requires and if appropriate the value of the property or subject matter involved.

Our legal fees are reviewed each year and thus if this matter is not concluded prior to the next review date takes place, then we will notify you of our new revised charges which will apply to all work done from the review date.

Timescales

This depends very much on the complexity of each case. A typical disputed matter can take between 6 months and 2 years or more to reach a conclusion.

However, we do recommend that you telephone us on 020 8537 0493 to discuss your matter further as the above schedule on costs and time should be used as a guide only.

JP Solicitors act for a wide range of clients in employment matters. Drawing from our wide experience, we can identify practical and pragmatic solutions to employment problems. To contact our employment solicitors

call 020 8537 0493 or 07947 359 099

07947 359 099

Employment law solicitors in Middlesex

The Employment Law

Employment Law Guidance Fees There is no VAT applicable on all of our fees. There may be VAT applicable on disbursements at the rate of 20%.

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Employment Law Guidance Fees
There is no VAT applicable on all of our fees.

There may be VAT applicable on disbursements at the rate of 20%.