Ask to be witness in employment tribunral against my current employer

surfamakikomi

Hi All,

A few months ago a colleague was dismissed for gross misconduct. I gave a statement in the work investigation, which neither supported or otherwise in the case. I had a phone call from the colleague about this during this process which I tried to avoid but may have told him I made a statement. I thought nothing about it as I heard nothing further..... until friday when I had a call

The call was from the ex colleague who says that he is going to a tribunral and wants to call me as a witness. he says that it will just be to go through the statement as this was never given/shown to him when dismissed. My problem is that I work for a company who I enjoy working for and I think that things will be difficult if I was a witness to "support" the colleague. During the call he also told me other witnesses who he was going to call.

I think that I have to tell my boss tomorrow about the call (apart from the witnesses) and what action to take as I do not want to get involved in this.

Has anyone else been in this situation or have any advice on whether this course of action is correct.

Southend1

surfamakikomi wrote: »

Hi All,

A few months ago a colleague was dismissed for gross misconduct. I gave a statement in the work investigation, which neither supported or otherwise in the case. I had a phone call from the colleague about this during this process which I tried to avoid but may have told him I made a statement. I thought nothing about it as I heard nothing further..... until friday when I had a call

The call was from the ex colleague who says that he is going to a tribunral and wants to call me as a witness. he says that it will just be to go through the statement as this was never given/shown to him when dismissed. My problem is that I work for a company who I enjoy working for and I think that things will be difficult if I was a witness to "support" the colleague. During the call he also told me other witnesses who he was going to call.

I think that I have to tell my boss tomorrow about the call (apart from the witnesses) and what action to take as I do not want to get involved in this.

Has anyone else been in this situation or have any advice on whether this course of action is correct.

Are you a union member? If so ask your rep to advise on whether/how you can comply with the request to act as a witness and be protected from potential victimisation from your employer. Your rep is unlikely to know the answer themself but will have access to legal advice on your behalf.

I wouldn't run straight to the boss with this one as you may compromise your own or your ex colleague's position. Take advice before acting.

My instinct is that if at all possible you should comply with the request. How would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot and you needed someone to act as a witnes? However you do need to ensure that your own position is protected.

gb12345

How long have you worked for your employer? If you started after April 2012, I'd be very wary about getting involved. Regardless of protection against victimisation, your employer could get rid of you for no reason.

Takeaway_Addict

The answer is how much do you want to help the ex employee, if its not a lot then protect your own back and refuse as much as possible (though I have a feeling that you could be forced to attend but someone would need to confirm this but its unlikely they would force someone unwilling in case what comes out of your mouth is not to their advantage!)

If you do want to help them then take Southends advice on looking how you can do it with as little risk of it backfiring against you from the employer (nothing is fail safe remember)

jacques_chirac

It is not a question of whether you wish to agree to/ comply with the request, if the tribunal instructs you to attend you are compelled to do so. A union rep is going to be no use at all!

surfamakikomi

Thanks Southend1,

I am not a union member so that is out of the window. I think that legally I cannot be victimised by being a witness but i do think that in the real world things could be difficult for me.

I think that I may have to be a witness but I think that being honest with the company and telling them whats going on will protect my position the most.

The most frustrating part is that my statement to the company doesnt support/go against the colleague so will be no use at all.

Cheers for your advice

surfamakikomi

gb12345 wrote: »

How long have you worked for your employer? If you started after April 2012, I'd be very wary about getting involved. Regardless of protection against victimisation, your employer could get rid of you for no reason.

I've worked for the company for about 8 years (it was taken over about 2 years ago). The irony is that I now work for the parent company not the company being taken to the tribunral.

Takeaway_Addict

just make it clear to the ex employee that you will not be supporting them on the stand. You're not lieing as you won't be supporting the employer either but they don't need to know that and hopefully that will scare them of calling you up.

surfamakikomi

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

The answer is how much do you want to help the ex employee, if its not a lot then protect your own back and refuse as much as possible (though I have a feeling that you could be forced to attend but someone would need to confirm this but its unlikely they would force someone unwilling in case what comes out of your mouth is not to their advantage!)

If you do want to help them then take Southends advice on looking how you can do it with as little risk of it backfiring against you from the employer (nothing is fail safe remember)

Although I am friendly with the colleague, I have been lied to by him in the past and I am sure that if the situation was reversed he would not be willing to do the same. If I thought the dimisssal was unjust then that would be motivation but I actually think that it was justified.

Takeaway_Addict

surfamakikomi wrote: »

Although I am friendly with the colleague, I have been lied to by him in the past and I am sure that if the situation was reversed he would not be willing to do the same. If I thought the dimisssal was unjust then that would be motivation but I actually think that it was justified.

lol tell your employer and they may call you to back them up!!!

Southend1

jacques_chirac wrote: »

It is not a question of whether you wish to agree to/ comply with the request, if the tribunal instructs you to attend you are compelled to do so. A union rep is going to be no use at all!

In the first instance, it is a question of deciding whether you are willing to go along with it. Though as you say, there's a possibility OP may be compelled.

OP please ignore the comment about seeking advice not being useful. You need independent guidance and you will not get this from either your employer or the ex colleague. Your number one priority here is to protect yourself.