Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Counsel's fees if they are asked to represent you at a Tribunal Hearing, although often Forbes will be representing you at a Tribunal Hearing (costs noted above). We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel's fees estimated between £850 to £1500 per day (plus VAT at 20%) (depending on the experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)

Expenses may also be charged for photocopying documents for an Employment Tribunal hearing, travel and hotel accommodation and ID verification checks. All expenses subject to VAT at 20%.

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;

• Reviewing and advising on the claim brought against you or a response (defence) from another party;

• Preparing the response (defence) to a claim;

• Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;

• Considering a schedule of loss and preparing a counter 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 a bundle of documents;

• Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements;

• Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or a list of the witnesses;

• Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing (which may include instructions to Counsel if appropriate).

The stages set out above are an indication of the typical stages that a claim will go through. If some of the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. Conversely, if additional stages are needed then the fee may be increased - for example, if an application is made to the Tribunal asking them to make an order to get the other side to do something or for the Tribunal to make an earlier decision on a matter, then the cost of making that application or representing you at a preliminary hearing may increase the cost.

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.

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, the case is likely to take 2-4 weeks. If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 6-12 months from when you receive the notice of the claim from the Tribunal. 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.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Employment Tribunals are experiencing delays to their normal timescales, although they do vary from one Employment Tribunal office to another. You could expect to see a further 6 to 12 month delay to the normal timescales set out above in your case during the pandemic, which is also likely to lead to ongoing delays for some time after the pandemic as the Employment Tribunals catch up.