About the firm

Cunningham Legal is the trading name of Cunningham Legal Limited, which is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 10174664, with its registered office at 1 Primrose Street, London EC2A 2EX. It is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA ID: 629986).

Its VAT number is GB 251 7182 15. A list of the directors of Cunningham Legal Limited is open to inspection at the registered office.


We maintain professional indemnity insurance which covers our services. Please contact us for further information.


Information on costs – Employment Tribunal claims

Under Rule 1 of the SRA Transparency Rules, we are required to publish certain information about in  Employment Tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal. Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal is as follows:

Simple case: £5-10k (excluding VAT)

Medium complexity case: £10k-50k (excluding VAT)

High complexity case: £50k-£100k (excluding VAT)

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 e.g. 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 £1800 per day (excluding VAT). Generally, we would allow 1-5 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 £750-£2500 per day (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 a 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 2-6 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 26-52 weeks at least. 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.


Complaints procedure

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you obtain a copy of our full complaints procedure by emailing amy@cunninghamlegal.co.uk. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

  • Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and

  • No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or

  • No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them: www.legalombudsman.org.uk; 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm; enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ