What is a No Win No Fee arrangement?

A No Win No Fee (NWNF) arrangement is also sometimes called a Conditional Fee Arrangement or Damages Based Agreement. It’s a type of agreement offered by Monaco Solicitors and some other UK law firms where we represent you in a legal action and you don’t have to pay any legal fees upfront.

Instead, you only pay if your case is successful. So, if we don’t win your case or secure a settlement that’s higher than what you may have already been offered, you don’t pay anything. This arrangement can make it easier for you to seek legal help without the worry of initial costs.

When we offer NWNF arrangements

We have to assess your case for NWNF on the basis of whether or not it’s likely to succeed and is a good business risk for us. We’re always keen to offer NWNF if we can. It’s good for you, and it also motivates us to win you the maximum compensation: the more you win, the more we earn.

We can offer NWNF for most types of employment cases, including unfair dismissal and constructive dismissal, discrimination and breach of contract.
Here’s an idea of how we decide if your case is sufficiently strong for us to be able to offer you a NWNF arrangement:

Strong evidence

We look for cases with clear, strong evidence. This can include emails, texts, employment contracts, or other documents that support your case. Witness statements from colleagues or others who can confirm your story also help.

High chance of success based on UK laws

We evaluate your case and potential claim to see if it has a high likelihood of success under UK employment laws. For example, it might be relatively easy to prove a claim of unfair dismissal or redundancy if there is clear evidence that proper procedures were not followed. On the other hand, proving discrimination can be more challenging, as it often requires showing a pattern of behaviour or intent that may not be as well documented.

Individual factors

Several personal factors about you, as the individual claimant, can also influence our decision, for example:

• Reason for termination: The circumstances surrounding why you were or are going to be dismissed
• Salary: Your current salary is likely to affect the potential compensation you might receive. So, the more you earn, the higher your compensation payment is likely to be.
• Age: Generally speaking, younger employees have greater opportunities of gaining new employment than older employees nearing retirement, so the older you are the higher your compensation expectation is likely to be.
• Length of employment: The length of your employment with your employer is also likely to impact the strength of your case and the potential settlement amount. The longer the better.
• Employment status: Whether you are currently employed or have already been dismissed can also play a role. It is much harder to fight and win your case if you have left your job.
• Your role and responsibilities: Senior positions might have different implications compared with junior roles, mainly because the employer will be more likely to want to settle if the alternative is a tribunal which will cost them a great deal of money should they lose the case.
•  Impact on future employment: How the dispute and its resolution might impact your future career prospects and earnings potential: the greater the impact, the more likely arguments for settling are likely to be.

Other relevant factors:

We also consider other factors that are crucial in determining the strength of your case and its suitability for NWNF, including:

Company size and policies: Larger companies with formal policies may have greater quantities of documented evidence. This could support their case against you. However, it could also mean that they have more information which would support your case against them and which you could access by means of a suitably-worded Data Subject Access Request.

Willingness of your employer to negotiate: Some employers have a strict policy of not negotiating settlements out of court, e.g. public sector organisations; some very large private corporations. In these circumstances and where the rest of your claim has reasonable grounds, we would advise you on the likelihood of tribunal proceedings and the steps you need to take for a tribunal application.

 

How we assess legal claims and potential settlements for NWNF

Even though our primary goal is to reach an out-of-court settlement, we need to ascertain whether there is a valid legal claim. This is because the prospect of you taking your employer to a tribunal can often be enough to encourage them to settle. The following are among the key factors we consider here:

Employer’s costs

Employers typically want to avoid the costs associated with fighting a case in an employment tribunal, as well as the possibility of public exposure for any wrongdoing. If your case goes to a tribunal, your employer will have to pay for their own legal representation and the time of their staff to manage the case. Additionally, if you win, your employer might have to cover your legal and other costs.

Settlement leverage

The possibility of a tribunal hearing can be a powerful incentive for employers to settle. They might offer a settlement amount close to what you could expect from a tribunal to avoid the hassle and additional expense of a public legal battle.

Timeline of events

All claims that have a chance of success in an employment tribunal have to be submitted within strict time deadlines. Even a really strong case which has run past its deadline for tribunal application loses strength and credibility if you try to negotiate a settlement for it. That’s why we ask to see a simple timeline of events with every case we review for NWNF.
If you haven’t already done so, check if your claim is still within time.

Types of case and our prices for a NWNF

Our firm specialises in representing individual employees and workers in employment disputes and disagreements, and we will consider most types of employment cases for a NWNF.

The precise NWNF fee will depend on a variety of factors, such as those outlined above, and in particular the complexity of the case, the work involved, what level of lawyer undertakes the work, and the likely amount of the compensation to be won.
Depending on those factors, our NWNF fee will typically range from between 20% to 35% (including VAT) of the total amount we win for you, as follows:

Negotiating settlements from scratch

If you don’t have a settlement agreement with your employer yet, we can negotiate one for you. In this case, our fee is usually an agreed percentage of the total settlement amount we secure for you.

Improving existing settlement offers

If you already have a draft settlement agreement from your employer, we can help you negotiate a higher payout.
In that situation, our fee is based only on the increase in the settlement amount we achieve for you, not on the entire amount. This means you only pay for the added value we provide.

Employment tribunal cases

Sometimes disputes can’t be resolved through negotiation, and you may need to take your case to an employment tribunal to get resolution: Here is a brief outline of whether/how we may be able to help you in such cases:

New cases that can only be resolved at an employment tribunal:
We don’t presently offer NWNF for new cases that we anticipate from the outset can only be resolved by way of an employment tribunal hearing, rather than by means of a negotiated settlement. In such instances, we may be able to offer you an hourly rate for support with some tribunal requirements. For example:

• completing the Employment Tribunal Claim form (ET1);
• compiling your evidence in a form suitable for a tribunal hearing;
• helping you locate a barrister to represent you at the tribunal hearing (unless you feel able to represent yourself).

We can also provide you with a variety of free resources to help you prepare documents required for the tribunal process. These tools guide you through the steps required and make the process easier for you to cope with.

Existing NWNF clients who haven’t settled prior to a tribunal claim deadline:
Clients who we have already agreed to represent on a NWNF basis also benefit from free access to our AI-based and other free resources if a settlement is not reached by their tribunal application deadline.

So, if we have been negotiating a settlement agreement for you on a no NWNF basis, but have not reached a settlement by the time your claim needs to be submitted, you will have access to our AI and other free resources. These will help you prepare and submit your claim so that it adheres to tribunal deadlines while the negotiations are ongoing.

 

Benefits and drawbacks of NWNF

Benefits

A NWNF arrangement can be a great option if you have a strong case but are worried about legal costs. It allows you to pursue justice without the financial risk because you only pay if we secure a settlement for you, giving you peace of mind and confidence to seek the legal help you need.

This arrangement also motivates your lawyer to work hard on your behalf, as their payment depends on the success of your case.

Drawbacks

While in our view NWNF arrangements have more benefits than anything else, they are not without some drawbacks.

One potential downside is that the percentage fee you agree to pay upon success may be higher than traditional hourly rates, particularly if the settlement amount is substantial.
However, neither you nor your solicitor knows this in advance, so it’s one of the risks you have to take.

Additionally, not all cases qualify for NWNF, meaning that if your case lacks strong evidence or has a lower chance of success, you might need to explore other funding options if you want help to negotiate with your employer or to take your case to an employment tribunal. However, we are committed to helping as many employees as we possibly can, and we will always try to provide some guidance on any alternatives available, such as our free resources designed to help you represent yourself.

In conclusion, our NWNF arrangements are designed to help employees and workers like you get the legal support you need without upfront costs. We evaluate the strength of your case and, if we believe in your chances of success, we offer a fair and transparent no win no fee structure. You’re not under any obligation to accept.