Employment Tribunal - calling witnesses

pperren

Hi all, I am helping a friend with their claim to the employment tribunal. There are witnesses he wishes to cross examine, as he would like to prove that they have lied during the internal investigation or made decisions that contributed to the constructive dismissal. There are other witnesses to the bullying who were not asked to back up claims of mistreatment as the investigation was not conducted correctly. Can he invite any witnesses he chooses, to enable cross examination? I have seen that he may have to pay expenses to any witnesses called, which is likely to prove expensive as there are a number of these.

Any advice on witnesses at tribunal would be welcome. thanks in advance

Pricivius

If you call a witness, you cannot cross examine them. You can only cross examine the other side's witnesses.


The witnesses you call will provide witness statements setting out their evidence. You cannot tell them what to say and they can refuse to act as a witness for you. If someone refuses, you can apply to the Tribunal for a witness order which will compel them to attend - you have to explain why you need them to give evidence, what evidence they will give and why it is relevant and necessary. This is risky as you probably won't know what their evidence will be. If they are compelled to attend, you may find that they are a hostile witness and are not prepared to co-operate.


I strongly recommend taking legal advice, from CAB or a law centre if funds are limited. Household insurance also often includes a legal clause so worth checking.

Crazy_Jamie

He cannot call a witness that he wishes to cross examine. That is for the other side to do. Your friend can call witnesses to give evidence to support his case, in which case they need to provide a witness statement and be willing to attend the Tribunal. It is not uncommon for claimants to want to call witnesses who still work for the employer but those witnesses are not willing to give evidence.

And just on a side note, but you mention that your friend is claiming constructive dismissal. If that is the case just be wary of how relevant (or not) it may be to prove that other employees lied during the investigation. Your friend's case is against his employer, not those employees. In order to succeed he must show that the employer fundamentally breached his contract. Whether or not an employee lied may not be relevant to that. It may be of course, it's just something that you need to be aware of.

Curlygirl123

Thanks for both of these great answers. That is very helpful and really clarifies things. Let's hope the other side call these staff members at witnesses.