Employment Law

At Coole Bevis, our Employment Law team provide expert legal advice on all aspects of employment law. We have extensive experience of advising a diverse range of businesses across a wide variety of sectors. Whether you are a sole trader, small business owner, SME, partnership, LLP, charity, club or organisation, we are here to help you navigate the complexities of employment law to find practical solutions, avoiding costly disputes wherever possible.

We are committed to providing our clients with clear advice that cuts through legal jargon and explains the options that are available to them.

How We Can Help

We understand that dealing with Employment Law matters can be very time consuming, as well as expensive if not approached correctly. Our team are highly experienced in managing complex and difficult situations, including where necessary bringing, conducting or defending legal proceedings in employment tribunals.

Our Employment legal experts work closely with other teams such as Dispute Resolution and Corporate & Commercial, to ensure a seamless service to clients.

Our Employment Law Services for Businesses Include:

Drafting contracts, handbooks, policies and procedures
Advice on conducting investigations, disciplinary meetings and grievance hearings
Advice on performance management, conduct, sickness absences, and potential redundancies
Advice on restructuring exercises, including TUPE implications
Advice on changing terms and conditions of employment and issuing new contracts
Advice on drafting effective restrictive covenants, either in new contracts or replacement contracts
Advice on enforcing post-termination restrictive covenants.
Representing employers at Employment Tribunals

Why Choose Coole Bevis for Your Business’ Employment Law Needs?

Tailored Legal Solutions

We offer bespoke advice that is aligned with your business needs, working with you to achieve the best possible outcome

Strong Client Relationships

We pride ourselves on building long-term relationships with our clients, giving us an in-depth understanding of your business and the challenges you face

Seamless Service

You will have a dedicated point of contact who will oversee your matter, ensuring continuity, clear communication, and a seamless service throughout the process.

Pragmatic Advice

We will always provide pragmatic, practical and cost-effective solutions

“[Nigel] you are really brilliant! Thank you for always making things so clear and succinct! I am so grateful for the stress you have helped to remove over this whole situation!”

Employment Tribunals Pricing

Open pricing

Close pricing

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (all fees noted below are subject to VAT @ 20%):

Case type	Cost
Simple case	£5,000 - £7,500
Medium complexity case	£7,500 - £12,500
High complexity case	£20,000 - £30,000

We charge based on an hourly rate which varies depending on the member of staff dealing with your matter. Our lowest hourly rate is £150 plus VAT @ 20% and our highest hourly rate is £290 plus VAT @ 20%. The seniority of the members of staff dealing with your case will depend on its complexity. We will discuss this with you when you instruct us.

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. For example, 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 £2,500 per day (plus VAT @ 20%). Generally, we would allow 1-3 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’s fees estimated between £2,500 to £3,500 per day plus VAT @ 20%, (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.

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 2-4 months. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 12-15 months. 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.

Contact us

For expert advice on all aspects of Employment Law, contact our experienced team at Coole Bevis today.

Get in touch

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