10.1 Who will be supervising the matter?
The advice provided on your settlement agreement, will be primarily supervised by Catherine Daw, Partner and Head of Employment. Other supervision may be provided by other Partners in the employment team. Find out more about our team.
10.2 Cancellation charge
Where you need to cancel your appointment you may do so without charge up to two business hours prior to your booked appointment time. Our business hours for this purpose are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Where you need to cancel within two business hours of your appointment time we may, at our discretion, charge you £100 plus VAT to cover the time we have spent preparing for your appointment.
10.3 Assumptions
The fixed fee is based on the following assumptions:
- That you provide us with the proposed settlement agreement at least 24 hours before your appointment time.
- That the agreement is in a standard form and meets the minimum requirements for agreements of this sort.
- That you are prepared to sign the settlement agreement following our meeting/discussion and changes to the agreement aren’t required.
10.4 Scope of work within the fixed fee
a) Receiving and reviewing the settlement agreement ahead of our consultation/appointment.
b) Meeting with you for up to one hour to review the terms of the agreement with you and provide you with the legally required advice as to its terms.
c) You then decide whether you want to sign the agreement offered to you by your employer as it stands or seek any changes.
The work in (a) and (b) above is the work which needs to be undertaken in order to meet the legal requirements for signing settlement agreements.
If, following our advice on the terms, you would like to ask for changes to be made to the agreement, further charges will apply. We will, where possible, provide you with a further cost estimate (or fixed cost if applicable) for this further work.
10.5 Work not included within the fixed fee
- Advice on tax. We will explain to you the proposed tax treatment detailed in your agreement (where this is set out) but we do not provide any wider advice on taxation matters.
- Work on calculating post-employment notice pay (PENP) for the purposes of tax treatment. The expectation is that your employer will undertake this calculation.
- Wider advice, for example on the enforcability of post-employment restrictions, the likelihood that you would succeed in legal claims against your employer (or anyone else), pension or share issues.
- Drafting or negotiating amendments to the agreement.
- Anything else not specifically mentioned as being in scope.
- Advice on a second (or reaffirmation) agreement.
10.6 Responsibility for the fixed fee – how does this work with any employer contribution?
Are my legal costs paid for by my employer?
It is normally the case that employers will make a contribution towards your legal costs in getting legal advice on the meaning of the settlement agreement. This contribution is commonly £350-£500 plus VAT.
If you decide to sign the agreement following your consultation with us, and subject to the points below, we will invoice your employer directly for the amount they have agreed to contribute towards the costs of seeking advice on the agreement terms.
Any additional fees incurred over this amount will be invoiced to you separately.
For example, if the employer contribution is £500 plus VAT this will cover the fixed fee. If it is only £350 plus VAT you will be invoiced personally for the additional £150 plus VAT.
When will I have to pay costs?
You will be responsible for our fees above any contribution paid by your employer.
Where possible, we will agree any additional fees above the fixed fee with you in advance but on occasions, particularly where work is required over a short period, it may not be possible to precisely agree the scope of fees with you in advance.
As you are the client and not your employer, you also need to be aware that on the rare occasion when an employer does not pay the agreed legal fee contribution then you will be responsible for all of our fees.
Steps can then be taken by you to enforce the part of the settlement agreement by which your employer has agreed to make the contribution towards your fees.
If once we have reviewed the agreement, you or your employer decide not to go ahead and enter into the settlement agreement, then you would be responsible for all of our fees.
10.7 What if I want advice or assistance outside the in-scope advice?
We would be happy to assist as necessary. For example, if you would like to ask for changes to be made to the agreement or if you would like advice about something other than the strict terms of the agreement.
Where a fixed cost is not offered for such further work, we will charge for our work on a time-spent basis against the following hourly rates:
Partners – £325 plus VAT
Senior Associate Solicitors – £285 plus VAT
Associate Solicitors – £265 plus VAT
Solicitors – £220-£225 plus VAT
Legal Executives/Paralegals/Trainee Solicitors – £80-£120 plus VAT
If you want to ask for changes to be made to the agreement, these additional costs are likely to be at least £250 plus VAT, although they may be higher if a number of changes need to be made or the changes are complex.
11.1 Who will be supervising the matter?
The advice provided will be primarily supervised by Mei-Ling McNab, Partner and Head of Family. Other supervision may be provided by other Partners in the family team. Find out more about our team.
11.2 Cancellation charge
Where you need to cancel your appointment, you may do so without charge up to one working day prior to your booked appointment time. Our working days for this purpose are Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
Where you need to cancel within one working day of your appointment time, we may, at our discretion, charge you £100 plus VAT to cover the time we have spent preparing for your appointment.
11.3 Assumptions
The fixed fee is based on the following assumptions:
- That you provide us with £150 plus VAT on account at least 24 hours before your appointment time.
- That you provide the required ID at least 24 hours before your appointment time.
11.4 Scope of work within the fixed fee
Meeting with you for up to one hour to provide you with advice on family matters, including divorce, civil partnership, finances on separation, cohabitants’ rights, disputes regarding child arrangements, and/or emergency injunctions following domestic abuse.
You then decide whether you want to instruct us to act on your behalf in respect of such matters. We will then provide you with a cost estimate for such further work as may be required.
11.5 Work not included within the fixed fee
- Advice on children matters where the local authority are an interested party.
- Wider advice, for example on what division of your financial assets may be considered to be fair in your circumstances.
- Anything else not specifically mentioned as being in scope.
11.6 What if I want advice or assistance outside the in-scope advice?
We would be happy to assist as necessary. Where a fixed cost is not offered for such further work, we will charge for our work on a time- spent basis against the following hourly rates:
Partners – £290-£295 plus VAT
Senior Associate Solicitors – £260 plus VAT
Consultant – £260 plus VAT
Solicitors/Legal Executives – £180 plus VAT
Paralegals – £140 plus VAT
Trainee Solicitors – £110-£150 plus VAT
Your requirements will be discussed with your chosen legal advisor during your consultation.
12.1 Who will be supervising the matter?
The advice provided on your nuptial agreement will be primarily supervised by Mei-Ling McNab, Partner and Head of Family. Other supervision may be provided by other Partners in the family team. Find out more about our team.
12.2 Cancellation charge
Where you need to cancel your appointment, you may do so without charge up to one working day prior to your booked appointment time. Our working days for this purpose are Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
Where you need to cancel within one working day of your appointment time, we may, at our discretion, charge you £100 plus VAT to cover the time we have spent preparing for your appointment.
12.3 Assumptions
The fixed fee is based on the following assumptions:
- That you provide us with £260 plus VAT on account at least 24 hours before your appointment time.
- That you provide the required ID at least 24 hours before your appointment time.
12.4 Scope of work within the fixed fee
Meeting with you for up to one hour to provide you with advice on pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.
You then decide whether you want to instruct us to act on your behalf in respect of such matters. We will then provide you with a cost estimate for such further work as may be required.
12.5 Work not included within the fixed fee
- Wider advice, for example on what division of your financial assets may be considered to be fair on divorce in your circumstances or on child arrangements following separation.
- Anything else not specifically mentioned as being in scope.
12.6 What if I want advice or assistance outside the in-scope advice?
We would be happy to assist as necessary. Where a fixed cost is not offered for such further work, we will charge for our work on a time- spent basis against the following hourly rates:
Partners – £290-£295 plus VAT
Senior Associate Solicitors – £260 plus VAT
Consultant – £260 plus VAT
Solicitors/Legal Executives – £180 plus VAT
Paralegals – £140 plus VAT
Trainee Solicitors – £110-£150 plus VAT
Your requirements will be discussed with your chosen legal advisor during your consultation.
