Who will deal with your case
Chris Dewey is the head of our Employment department and will be responsible for handling your case. He has been working in this area for more than 20 years, leading some of our most high-profile cases to a successful conclusion. Claims for employees are brought by Chris, Gemma Hughes, a Solicitor, and by Claire Clark, a Chartered Legal Executive. The team works together. This means the quality of our advice is not affected, regardless of who you are in contact with on a day to day basis. Chris and his team have dealt with many hundreds of employment cases over the years. The types of Employment cases Chris has dealt with range from straightforward dismissal cases to sexual discrimination cases. Chris has a proven track record in achieving successful outcomes for clients.
Employment tribunals for employees
If our employment solicitors believe that you do have sufficient grounds for a claim in the Employment Tribunal, then we may be able to represent you under a no win no fee agreement. This means that if you are successful in your claim, our fees will be paid from your compensation but if you are unsuccessful, then we will only charge you for the expenses which we have incurred in bringing your claim such as travel expenses and the costs of an expert if necessary. We will not charge for our time and therefore there will be no other charge to you, except for any expenses as set out above. You will be kept informed throughout of any expenses you may incur. This is on the basis that the matter proceeds to a full, contested hearing.
Under our no win no fee arrangement we charge a success fee of 35% of any award made inclusive of VAT and expenses incurred.
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.
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 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 6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9 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.
Settlement Agreements
We can offer a fixed price to prepare your Settlement Agreement, which is normally covered by your employer.
Our fee for advising on the agreement normally ranges from £250 - £1,000 plus VAT (£300 to £1,200 inclusive of VAT), depending on the complexity of the arrangements being made.
Click here to visit our Employment Law for Individuals page to learn more.
Kind and professional support and guidance during a difficult time. Would highly recommend - the service couldn't have been better. As soon as I contacted them I felt like a weight was taken off me and I could rely on...
Very helpful oversight of the agreement explained in easy to understand terms - thank you!
Many thanks for your excellent work and advice on my my behalf. You were so thorough, fair and transparent with all aspects of the professional advice that was requested.
I was looking for clarification about whether the correct procedure had been followed in my workplace and received prompt and considered advice.
Professional and quick service, great communication. The whole process was seamless and Chris Dewey was quick to respond and very helpful answering my questions.
I have received excellent service from Chris Dewey at Ward Gethin Archer with regard to recent legal advice provided. Chris got back to me quickly, was thorough, competant and very professional. I could not have wished for better service.
The service I received was very prompt and efficient. I would definitely use WGA again.
I was really impressed with the service I received from WGA, from my initial phone call to completion of the matter, all dealt with in 5 days. I thought the matter was discussed with me, in terms I understood and...
Very professional and all interactions undertaken swiftly.
Having used the company on an employment matter I can only recommend them for the advice and professionalism.
We were very pleased with the level of service and support we received from Chris Dewey, he was very thorough, quick to respond to our initial request and very reassuring throughout the entire process. We would not hesitate to use...
Great service, Chris listened to what we had to say and the advice he gave was very useful.
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