How to get legal advice for an employment-related issue?

TuppenceHapenny

Sandtree said:

TuppenceHapenny said:

TELLIT01 said:

If the 'technicality' was enough for the insurer to reject it, it's likely that other legal routes would think the same.

Sorry, what I meant was that my insurance policy was deemed not to cover the specific legal issue at question rather than that the insurer decided there was no case to answer. The insurer didn't get as far as looking at the possible merits of any legal case.

There is normally two layers of cover with LE, the first is a helpline that covers most legal issues for advice and the second is the claims department where they act for you but this is on a much smaller scope of issues. The first line helpline wont give you case specific advice but general but this may be sufficient for you to gauge your prospects of success.

Solicitors dont work for free and given the level of training required to become one their hourly rates reflect this. Many offer a free initial consultation but dont get your hopes up that this is any more than a basic fact find for them to decide if its in their sphere of interest and an opportunity for them to discuss funding etc. 

How much a fee earner charges will vary massively based on their qualifications and experience, area of law etc. Realistically solicitors charge £200-£400/hr but can go well over £1,000 for a senior partner in a specialist law field (unlikely for employment)

So it looks like it could cost me in the region of (say) £500 just to be told my case isn't strong enough to worth pursuing (if that's the case)?

theoretica

Are you aware of this forum?- https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/employment-law-issues 

Jillanddy

theoretica said:

Are you aware of this forum?- https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/employment-law-issues 

Well I certainly am. And given some of the truly dreadful legal advice given by the couple of posters on there,  I wouldn't recommend it for a second. 

Sandtree

TuppenceHapenny said:

Sandtree said:

TuppenceHapenny said:

TELLIT01 said:

If the 'technicality' was enough for the insurer to reject it, it's likely that other legal routes would think the same.

Sorry, what I meant was that my insurance policy was deemed not to cover the specific legal issue at question rather than that the insurer decided there was no case to answer. The insurer didn't get as far as looking at the possible merits of any legal case.

There is normally two layers of cover with LE, the first is a helpline that covers most legal issues for advice and the second is the claims department where they act for you but this is on a much smaller scope of issues. The first line helpline wont give you case specific advice but general but this may be sufficient for you to gauge your prospects of success.

Solicitors dont work for free and given the level of training required to become one their hourly rates reflect this. Many offer a free initial consultation but dont get your hopes up that this is any more than a basic fact find for them to decide if its in their sphere of interest and an opportunity for them to discuss funding etc. 

How much a fee earner charges will vary massively based on their qualifications and experience, area of law etc. Realistically solicitors charge £200-£400/hr but can go well over £1,000 for a senior partner in a specialist law field (unlikely for employment)

So it looks like it could cost me in the region of (say) £500 just to be told my case isn't strong enough to worth pursuing (if that's the case)?

It potentially could, you could add a couple of zeros onto that for what I've spent on behalf of clients for the same advice, and so weigh up the potential costs -v- the other options, eg pursuing the case without legal representation and possibly after many months finding out the case has no merits.  I wont comment further on employment cases as I know enough that they are different to the type of work I do but not enough to comment on consequences of losing a case.

MalMonroe

Although I see that you have pooh-poohed them, Acas is really good at offering free, impartial advice. They say this about themselves -

"Acas gives employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice."

 Although they aren't allowed to take sides, they CAN give you information about whether or not any action you wish to take will succeed or fail. In the past, I've found their advice invaluable. If you want to bring a case against an employer, they are the ones who need to be contacted so you can go to Employment Tribunal. And going to a tribunal is free. Before you consider paying £500 to be told that you don't have a case, you could contact them. Please don't knock them until you've tried them.

If you are on a low income, there are some solicitors who offer not only free advice but who will work with you for nothing, too. I found one who worked in the Law Clinic at the uni I graduated from but they also take on cases from anyone who needs help - not just graduates. I received a professional service, even though I didn't pay anything. A quick google can help you to find solicitors like that. 

Undervalued

MalMonroe said:

Although I see that you have pooh-poohed them, Acas is really good at offering free, impartial advice. They say this about themselves -

"Acas gives employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice."

 Although they aren't allowed to take sides, they CAN give you information about whether or not any action you wish to take will succeed or fail. In the past, I've found their advice invaluable. If you want to bring a case against an employer, they are the ones who need to be contacted so you can go to Employment Tribunal. And going to a tribunal is free. Before you consider paying £500 to be told that you don't have a case, you could contact them. Please don't knock them until you've tried them.

If you are on a low income, there are some solicitors who offer not only free advice but who will work with you for nothing, too. I found one who worked in the Law Clinic at the uni I graduated from but they also take on cases from anyone who needs help - not just graduates. I received a professional service, even though I didn't pay anything. A quick google can help you to find solicitors like that. 

In your opinion! One that is not shared by many of the regular posters on this forum!

At the first level of ACAS you are talking to a call centre staffed by people with limited training. They do not give legal advice and any "advice" they do give is not a substitute for proper legal advice. They are a neutral arbitration service and are not on your side. 

I would however agree with your last paragraph, as a possible option, if the OP has no union backing or insurance and is unable to pay for proper legal advice in the normal way,

Jude57

OP check if you have a local Law Centre near you. They aren't available everywhere but if you can find one locally, they might be able to help. If your nearest University has a Law Faculty, they may (I stress MAY) be willing to help. Don't dismiss CAB out of hand. While it's true they are staffed mainly by volunteers without specialist lawyers on staff, they do have links with local solicitors who are prepared to give initial free advice. I'd at least try CAB to see if they can signpost local free advice.

Thrugelmir

Have you exhausted all prescribed internal routes of resolution? 

GaseousAgley

Thrugelmir said:

Have you exhausted all prescribed internal routes of resolution? 

    Yes.

GaseousAgley

Jude57 said:

OP check if you have a local Law Centre near you. They aren't available everywhere but if you can find one locally, they might be able to help. If your nearest University has a Law Faculty, they may (I stress MAY) be willing to help. Don't dismiss CAB out of hand. While it's true they are staffed mainly by volunteers without specialist lawyers on staff, they do have links with local solicitors who are prepared to give initial free advice. I'd at least try CAB to see if they can signpost local free advice.

Thanks for the advice - I'll investigate these options.