How do I fund my Employment Tribunal claim?

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Pursuing litigation is expensive. Below we look at some of the options you may have to fund your claim(s).

The first step is to check whether you have insurance. Often individuals have ‘legal expense insurance’ on household contents insurance or other insurance products. If you have such cover, you have freedom to instruct a Solicitor of your own choice, and we regularly advise and support individuals in this position. The insurer will try and push you to one of its panel law firms, but these tend to be law firms that take on high volumes of cases, so you may not get the same level of service as other (non-panel) law firms can offer.

If you are a member of a Trade Union, you may be able to get assistance from your trade union.

You may be able to find a firm that offers ‘no win no fee’ services (properly known as a damages-based agreement), but these are rare in employment tribunal cases, as, unlike civil claims, the winning party in a Tribunal claim rarely recovers their legal costs. This means the sum to be paid to your solicitor (if you are successful) will need to come from your compensation and will be a percentage of your compensation. As such, the claim will not only need to have good prospects but also sufficient value to cover the legal fees and leave enough left for you to receive some compensation. An alternative type of ‘no win no fee’ agreement is a conditional fee agreement. This means if you lose you will pay either no fee or a discounted fee and if you win, you will pay the solicitor’s standard fee plus a ‘success fee’ which is a percentage mark-up on the standard fee. The reasoning is that the solicitor is taking the risk of not being paid.

You might be eligible for support from a charity, especially if your claim is of a specific nature, like discrimination, and a charity is willing to help you, a law centre, or pro bono representation.

Ultimately, you can always fund your solicitor’s fees yourself. Unlike ‘no win no fee’ this would see you pay a Solicitor’s hourly rate or fixed fees without any uplift if you are successful. However, we appreciate that funding litigation at a time when you are out of work is not ideal, and because it is an expensive process you may need to borrow money, or use savings; neither of which is attractive.

If you’re thinking of making a claim, it’s a good idea to get advice from an experienced employment lawyer at an early stage to understand the process and likely costs. As we do, your solicitor should be willing to be flexible and either represent you in full or provide assistance as and when needed, which is generally a cheaper option.

Legal proceedings are a last resort, and if possible, usually a better option is to seek to negotiate a reasonable settlement based upon litigation risk and taking into account the legal costs you are likely to incur in bringing proceedings.

Article by

Louise Maynard

0800 915 7777

Our expert employment law solicitors all have many years’ experience advising individuals who are in your position. We will be able to guide you through the process and to help you secure the best possible outcome.

We offer a range of services, so please contact our friendly customer services team to discuss further via hello@kilgannonlaw.co.uk or 0800 915 7777.

Disclaimer

The above provides a general overview relating to tribunals and is not intended nor construed as providing specific legal advice.

This article is for information purposes only and is correct at the time of publication. It does not constitute legal advice.

26.08.23

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