Employment Tribunal defences without Worklaw
Your trade organisation - probably the best alternative option
DIY - the cheapest option
Solicitors - probably a good but expensive option
Business service companies - a debatable option
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Your trade organisation
If you are a member of a trade organisation then you might be entitled to free or subsidised legal representation to defend an employment tribunal case. If you are, this is probably your best option. NB: if you are not happy with the advice or service you receive from your trade organisation, Worklaw can always take over.
Do the employment tribunal case yourself
There is nothing to stops you doing your own employment tribunal case. You can get information and booklets from the employment tribunal and from ACAS which explain employment tribunal procedures. Basically, to fight an employment tribunal claim you need to do three things; (1) get all the documents which are relevant; (2) get written statements from relevant witnesses; and (3) learn a bit about the relevant legal points. The downside to doing your own case is that it is a time consuming business and, depending on the case, the relevant legal points might be difficult to understand for a lay person. NB: if you run into problems you can always call upon Worklaw for ad hoc advice.
Solicitors
A 'high street' firm of solicitors is likely to charge over £100 per hour, and bigger firms can be much more expensive per hour. If you win, you are not likely to be awarded costs against your opponent. Also, you need to ensure that the solicitor you instruct is a specialist in employment law, or, if employment law is not their main speciality, at least they have done some cases in employment tribunals. If you instruct a solicitor who does not usually do employment law cases, the chances are they will instruct a barrister to do the work and be your advocate at the employment tribunal hearing. The barrister's fees are likely to be added to the solicitor's fees. Try to get the solicitor to do the case for a fixed-fee and then you will know how much you will have to pay from the outset. NB: remember Worklaw will always do your case for a fixed fee.
Business service companies
If you have not already heard of companies like Peninsula Business Services or Croner Consulting, and many other companies offering similar services, you will probably hear from their sales representatives once they know you have an employment tribunal claim against you. This type of company specialises in giving advice on employment law, and also arranging indemnity insurance to cover any future employment tribunal claims, providing you take and follow their advice strictly. The sales representative will probably offer that their company will do the case for free providing you sign up for their services by monthly instalments, for say, 5 years. This sounds like an attractive option, and in fact might be a good option for your particular business. However, please check the financial penalty you might suffer if you want - or need - to terminate the agreement before it expires. Also, check that you are not in fact paying for the 'free' representation by instalments over the period of the agreement because the sales rep has built the cost of the 'free' representation into the monthly fee. NB: the maximum length of notice to terminate a Worklaw agreement is 4 weeks.