Have you been wrongfully or unfairly dismissed?
If you have lost your job and you think your employer could be in breach of your terms of your contract or in breach of your statutory rights, please seek advice from one of our team.
Wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal is when your employer breaches the terms of your contract and dismisses you.
It is not the same as unfair dismissal. Unfair dismissal deals with your statutory rights as an employee.
A dismissal can be unfair and also wrongful, but you should seek advice regarding what claim you may have, if any.
Your employment contract or handbook will set out how much notice you are entitled to. This is the time period that you are entitled to be given by your employer. The law requires certain time periods to be given as notice and this is part of your statutory rights. Your employer should pay you for all your notice period.
If you are fired without notice, or with less notice than stipulated in your contract, then you may have a claim for wrongful dismissal.
Unfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal is when you lose your job for reasons that are unjust. It also occurs when an employer has a fair reason for firing you but did not follow the correct procedure. It is not the same as wrongful dismissal.
To bring a claim for unfair dismissal, unless one of the exceptions applies, you must have worked for your employer for 2 years.
A tribunal will decide whether there has been a reasonable reason for your dismissal and they will determine whether or not your dismissal was unfair.
Key stages
The fees set out cover all of the work in relation to the key stages of the claim:
- taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation (this will be continually reviewed throughout your case and subject to change)
- entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore a possible settlement and can this be reached
- preparing the claim for conciliation and discussing potential offers with you
- preparing the claim or response
- reviewing and advising on the claim or response from your opponent
- exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process
- preparing and considering details of the losses in the claim
- preparing for (and attending) a preliminary hearing
- exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents
- talking to all your witnesses
- obtaining statements, drafting those statements and agreeing the content with the witness
- preparing bundles of documents
- reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
- agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or a list of people to give evidence at the tribunal hearing known as a cast list
- preparation and attendance at the final hearing, including instructions to Counsel.
This list is not an exhaustive list and the more complex the claim, the more work that has to be undertaken on your behalf.
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee may be reduced.
You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This would be arranged on an individual needs basis.
How long will my matter take?
The time it takes from taking your instructions to the final resolution 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 1-12 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a final hearing your case is likely to take 26-52 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. Please contact one of our employment team to discuss your matter.
Pricing
For detailed costs information click here.
