Employment funding routes: compare the commitment, not the headline

Look for existing support before creating a new bill

Acas identifies several possible sources of legal support for workers, including a trade union, personal or home insurance, some Citizens Advice offices and geographically specific free legal services. Those are routes to investigate, not a promise that any particular organisation will represent you. Ask the organisation itself about its conditions, capacity and the work it can provide.

Create a simple private list of policies, memberships and advice services you can contact. Check whether approval is required before a separate solicitor starts work. Do not assume that paying another adviser first will be reimbursed later. Keep the distinction between a telephone advice service and funded representation clear throughout your comparison.

Compare tasks before comparing fee arrangements

A fixed charge for reading a document may answer a different question from a percentage arrangement for negotiation. Neither necessarily includes a tribunal hearing. Write down the deliverables you want explained, then ask each provider to describe the work included and excluded in writing. A shorter engagement may be easier to understand, but this page cannot say whether it is appropriate for you.

Outcome-related funding also needs a precise definition of success. Ask what happens when an employer improves an existing offer, when an agreement includes non-financial terms or when you decide not to continue. The phrase no win no fee cannot answer those questions by itself, and apparently similar percentages may use different fee bases.

• Identify the task and the jurisdiction.
• Record the payment trigger and fee base.
• Separate VAT, third-party expenses and insurance.

Use published examples without turning them into offers

Landau Law’s published employment funding page describes a usual charge of 25% plus VAT and says that, where an offer already exists, its fee applies to additional recovery. It also describes possible fixed charges for detailed initial review and potential additional tribunal costs. This is an attributed example of one provider’s description, checked on 6 November 2026, not a quotation for you.

Stephensons describes an employment damages-based arrangement retaining up to 35% inclusive of VAT, while disbursements may be separate. Do not combine those examples into a market average or treat either percentage as a universal legal cap. Ask any provider to explain its own proposed agreement, jurisdiction and exceptions rather than substituting a competitor’s web page.

Keep procedure separate from the shopping process

Waiting for an insurer, union or solicitor to decide funding does not itself complete official procedural steps. In England, Wales and Scotland, read the current Acas guidance about early conciliation and time limits. Northern Ireland uses the Labour Relations Agency and separate tribunal arrangements. This site does not calculate a deadline or decide which procedure applies.

Finish your comparison with a record of unresolved questions, rather than a score declaring one route best. Confirm who is taking responsibility for each task and when that responsibility begins. If nobody has accepted instructions, do not assume that somebody is monitoring your matter while a funding enquiry is being considered.