Experience and Qualifications

Your case will be conducted by Neil Coombes , a director and Solicitor. Neil has been practising in employment law since 1997 and qualified as a Solicitor in 1998. He only practises in employment law working for both Claimants and Respondents and currently has over 26 years employment law experience. He has a Master’s degree in Employment Law from the University of Huddersfield. 

Employment Tribunal Claims, Claimant

A Claimant is a person who brings a claim. The party or parties you are bringing your case against are known as Respondents

Act promptly!

If you have a case which needs to be determined by an Employment Tribunal (the most common ones being Unfair dismissal, discrimination, family friendly rights infringement , wrongful dismissal, “whistleblowing “ etc) it is important you that you act promptly.
Almost all claims have to be notified to ACAS first using their prescribed notification system within  3 months of the act you are complaining about. Once ACAS have been notified they  can be involved for up to 6 weeks to see if a solution can be found. If no solution is reached, you have at least one month (it can be longer depending when ACAS were notified of the dispute) to file a Claim at the Employment Tribunal. These are strict time limits and although claims may be presented late, there must be very good reasons for this otherwise your claim will be rejected

What happens when my claim is lodged at the tribunal?

It will be screened by a legal officer to make sure it has been validly presented and then sent to the other party/ parties who will have 28 days to provide their Response. The Tribunal will set a timetable to progress it to a hearing, which involves you setting out how you value your claim (called a Schedule of loss) , disclosing relevant documents and preparing a witness statement. Unless your case is straightforward, it will usually be listed for a preliminary hearing to discuss the case in general terms, sort out the issues and then issue a timetable for the hearing.

How long does it take?

There are several Tribunals around the UK and your case will be heard at the closest venue to your Employer’s business  address , usually where you worked. If you worked from home, this will be  your address. Every Tribunal has different resources and case-loads but you should expect to get a final hearing between 6 to 18 months from the date of issue depending on the Tribunal venue and the complexity of your claim.

Costs, how do I pay for my case?

In Employment Tribunal proceedings , the costs you pay us are not generally recoverable from the other party , usually your ex-employer if you are successful. Conversely , if you are not successful the other party does not generally recover their costs from  you.  There are exceptions to this - for example if you bring a claim without any reasonable chance of success or in bad faith or you act disruptively or abusively in the progression of your claim or at any hearing.  The ways you can fund your case are set out below.

No win no fee agreement

What is a no win no fee?

A no win no fee is a contractual agreement between us and you that enables you to bring a claim to tribunal without having to pay our fees for representing you up front. We are paid a percentage of any compensation or settlement fee a Tribunal awards you or we achieve through a negotiated settlement . This is typically 35% (including vat at the prescribed rate, currently 20%)  If you are not awarded any compensation we do not charge you at all. If you are not successful in Tribunal. Depending on the nature of your claim, you may still have to pay dispursements whether you win or lose, please see dispursements paragraph below.

Will I get a no win no fee?

We will assess your claim and if we feel it is appropriate and we feel that on balance, your claim has a viable chance of success, we will offer you a no win no fee agreement.

Privately Paying

 (Vat is charged at the prescibed rate, currently 20%)

You can decide to instruct us on an hourly rate. This is currently £250.00 plus vat per hour. VAT (where stated) is currently charged at 20%.  If you have a large claim it may be cheaper for you to do this rather than a “no win no fee” agreement as paying privately could work out less than paying our percentage of 35%. For example if you had a relatively straightforward one day case which recovered £30000.00, your no win no fee charges would be £10500.00 and you would receive £19500.00. If you were to pay privately, your fees could be in the region of £4000 - £4500.00 plus vat at 20%, ie £4800.00 - £5400.00, which is roughly half. However, this is payable win or lose and so this does depend on you being successful and recovering £30000.00. Whether you are successful or not or the level of compensation you might receive can never be guaranteed although we will give you our best indication of both from our experience of similar cases to allow you to decide.      
Every claim is different in terms of the work (ie time) required but to progress matters from initial instruction to a final hearing the following time is likely to be incurred. Discrimination and Public Interest Disclosure (“Whistleblowing”) claims tend to be more involved and therefore require more time than “straightforward” unfair dismissal claims, breach of contract , wages claims etc  .
VAT (where stated) is currently charged at 20%

In relation to an Unfair Dismissal claim the following costs are typical:

 (Vat is charged at the prescibed rate, currently 20%)

Drafting and submitting your claim 1hr to 4 hrs , ie £250 - £1000 plus vat

Preparing your documents for disclosure and sending to the other Party 1 hr to 4 hrs, ie £250 - £1000 plus vat

Preparing, revising and exchanging Witness statements 1 hr to 5 hrs, ie £250 - £1250.00 plus vat

Representation at any hearings £250.00 per hour plus vat. 6 hours (a day ) £1500.00 plus vat

In relation to a Wrongful Dismissal claim (ie non-payment of notice)  the following costs are typical:

 (Vat is charged at the prescibed rate, currently 20%)

Drafting and submitting your claim 1hr to 2 hrs , ie £250 - £500 plus vat

Preparing  a schedule of loss ½hr to 1 hrs,    ie £125 - £250 plus vat

Preparing your documents for disclosure and sending to the other Party 1 hr to 2 hrs, ie £250 - £500 plus vat

Preparing , revising and exchanging Witness statements 1 hr to 3 hrs, ie £250 - £750.00 plus vat

Representation at any hearings £250.00 per hour plus vat -  6 hours (a day ) £1500.00 plus vat

In respect of the any of the above, we shall be pleased to consider a “fixed fee” so you have certainty of legal costs rather than an hourly rate where the time required can be uncertain.

Legal Expenses Insurance

You should carefully check any insurance policies you may have (typically Home and Contents insurance ) but also premium “packaged” bank accounts may have it. If you have taken it out, it will allow us to get paid by your insurance company for the work we do taking your case through the Tribunal process , including any representation at the hearing. Please note that your insurance company should be notified promptly of your dispute / possible claim and out terms of representation will then be agreed with them who will pay your fees and any disbursements at the end of the case. Subject to any excess on your policy , any compensation you recover through negotiated settlement or through a tribunal award will belong to you and you do not pay us anything.  

Disbursements

 (Vat is charged at the prescibed rate, currently 20%)

Your claim may be subject to disbursements. These are payments made in your claim to cover our expenses or the costs of others being involved. The most likely disbursements in your claim would be travel expenses (mileage is charged at 45p per mile plus vat at 20%), parking (at cost plus vat at 20%) , train travel (at cost plus vat at 20%) although most hearings are now conducted by video link. If this is the case, these would not apply.
In some circumstances , for example if your claim is particularly complex or likely to be a long hearing (ie in excess of 5 days) we may ask that you instruct a Barrister. Barrister’s fees vary depending on their experience but typically range from £750 - £1500 plus vat per day. Should this be necessary this will be discussed and agreed with you before any barrister is instructed.
Other disbursements would include expert reports , most usually medical if you are bringing a disability discrimination claim or actuarial if you have complicated pension loss. Again it is is difficult to estimate what these costs would be but you should typically expect to budget between £500 – £1500 plus vat depending what is required. These costs will be discussed with you in advance of any expert being instructed.
Please note that whatever the nature of the disbursement, as with your legal costs, these are not generally recoverable if you win your case and so are payable “win or lose”.

Other work

You may require assistance for non-Employment tribunal work such as advice on a contract of employment , restrictive covenants, Transfer of Undertakings (if your employment is to be transferred to a new party) or disciplinary and grievance issues you may be subject to. Our hourly rate of £250.00 plus vat at 20% will apply to work done in these areas and we will advise you how long it would expect to take but we will also be happy to offer a fixed fee depending on what is required.

Settlement Agreements

A Settlement Agreement is a binding agreement where you (generally) leave employment and agree not to bring Employment Claims against your former employer once you have left. It is customary for your employer to contribute to your legal fees although there is no legal requirement to do so . Generally these costs are between £350.00 to £750.00 plus vat at 20% to conclude but can be more for executives and directors with extra issues such as restrictive covenants, share options or bonuses or if there is a future re-signing requirement. If your employer is not willing to meet any or all of your costs, we will discuss with you what amount of private funding you will need commit to before proceeding. 

Employment Tribunal Claims, respondents

We also act for Respondents. If you receive a Claim from an ex-Employee from the Employment Tribunal it is important you take prompt action as you only have 28 days to file your response to it . Should you fail to do so, judgment could be entered against you. Whilst this can be set aside in some circumstances, it is not recommended!
Once your Response is filed , it will be vetted by a legal officer to make sure it is valid and then sent to the Claimant. The Claim will then progress to a hearing in the same timescales as stated above in the Claimant’s section.
How does a Respondent pay for their defence to a Claim?
You can decide to instruct us on an hourly rate. This is currently £250.00 plus vat per hour. Claims involving discrimination or protected disclosures tend to be more complex and therefore more time-consuming. VAT (where stated) is currently charged at 20%

In relation to an Unfair Dismissal claim the following costs are typical:

 (Vat is charged at the prescibed rate, currently 20%)

Drafting and submitting your Response 1hr to 4 hrs , ie £250 - £1000 plus vat

Preparing your documents for disclosure and sending to the other Party 1 hr to 4 hrs, ie £250 - £1000 plus vat

Preparing , revising and exchanging Witness statements 1 hr to 10 hrs, ie £250 - £2500.00 plus vat

Representation at any hearings £250.00 per hour plus vat - 6 hours (a day ) £1500.00 plus vat

In relation to a Wrongful Dismissal claim (ie non-payment of notice)  the following costs are typical:

 (Vat is charged at the prescibed rate, currently 20%)

Drafting and submitting your Response 1hr to 2 hrs , ie £250 - £500 plus vat

Preparing your documents for disclosure and sending to the other Party 1 hr to 4hrs, ie £250 - £1000 plus vat

Preparing , revising and exchanging Witness statements 1 hr to 4 hrs, ie £250 - £1000.00 plus vat

Representation at any hearings £250.00 per hour plus vat - 6 hours (a day ) £1500.00 plus vat

In respect of the any of the above, we shall be pleased to consider a “fixed fee” so you have certainty of legal costs rather than an hourly rate where the time required can be uncertain.

Legal expenses insurance

You should carefully check any insurance policies you may have . If you have taken it out, it will allow us to get paid by your insurance company for the work we do defending the Claim through the Tribunal process , including any representation at the hearing. Please note that your insurance company should be notified promptly of the Claim and out terms of representation will then be agreed with them who will pay your fees and any disbursements at the end of the case. You may also have cover in respect of any compensation that you may be ordered to pay.   

Other Work

You may require assistance for non-Employment tribunal work such as drafting a contract of employment  for an employee, introducing restrictive covenants, Transfer of Undertakings (if you are buying a business or selling your business or disciplinary and grievance issues with an employee . Our hourly rate of £250.00 plus vat at 20% will apply to work done in these areas and we will advise you how long it would expect to take but we will also be happy to offer a fixed fee depending on what is required.

How to get our help

You can contact us by telephone at the following number 01484 303585 or by emailing us at mail@ncoombes.co.uk

You can also contact us by filling in our on-line contact form, with your details and a summary of the assistance you need.

Complaints

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.
It is our aim to provide all our clients with an efficient and effective service and we are confident that we shall do so in connection with your claim. However, should there be any aspect of our service with which you are unhappy, then please bring this to the attention of Neil Coombes at your very earliest convenience.
In the unlikely event of you having reason to complain about the handling of your case or if you wish to review the costs and/or expense incurred, you should write to Neil Coombes, Director of Neil Coombes Solicitor Limited at our address as stated on our website and in your client care documentation.  We shall attempt to resolve any query or complaint you may have as soon as possible, usually within 14 days although this can take longer, if so you will be advised why and how long to expect. Once you have our final response , if you still remain dissatisfied, you can contact the legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167 Slough, SL1 0EH to consider the complaint. You will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint and no more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about or no more than one year from when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.

You also have the option to complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Their address is: the Cube, 199 Wharfside Street , Birmingham B1 1RN. Their telephone number is 0370 606 2555. Guidance on what matters the SRA can investigate can also be found on their website: www.sra.org.uk

You can contact us by filling in our contact form, with your details and a summary of the assistance you need.