Preparing For The Hearing

The Case Management Order that the Employment Tribunal Service sends you will give you the date of your hearing, this should give you plenty of time to prepare for the hearing.

The hearing is your chance to tell the judge, in person, your side of the story. Your story ideally needs to be backed up with either documentary evidence or witness evidence. The employment judge uses the evidence presented and tests it against similar situations in other employment cases. Preparation for the hearing is therefore key; and the preparation for the hearing can be broken down into two key areas: (1) witnesses and (2) documents.

Our factsheet entitled Witnesses at the Hearing explains the role of witnesses at the hearing and how to deal with them.

Our factsheet entitled Documents for the Hearing explains the role of documentation during the hearing.

We also have a factsheet entitled Witness cannot attend the hearing which sets out what you need to do in this situation.

The hearing bundle is a file or folder that contains all of the documents related to the case. It is an important aspect of preparation for the hearing. Normally the respondents compile the bundle. As an example of what to expect in a bundle we have a factsheet entitled the Bundle Index; this is a template of the front page of a bundle which can be downloaded.

What sort of evidence should the witness have?

A witness is a person who can describe what has happened to you from a first-hand perspective. The witness should have seen what happened. This is the best kind of witness to have.

The biggest problem I have is that plenty of people witnessed what happened to me but they are all too scared of the management and do not want to get involved, what can I do?

This is a really tricky one and should be handled with great care. If a person at work helps a colleague out with a tribunal case then the management cannot by law treat that person horribly. If the management do threaten or intimidate someone who has helped you then the witness may be have a case against the employer. If you find yourself in this situation get in touch with us and we will advise you further.

I have a witness who provided me with a statement that would have helped me with my case but has now changed their mind, what can I do?

Not a lot really. It the witness is unwilling to help you or has changed their version of events for whatever reason they can do that. You should never force your opinion or point of view onto them because you may find that during the hearing and the cross examination the other side will catch them out.

A witness has provided me with a statement but has not signed or dated it, will this cause a problem?

Yes, all witness statements should ideally be signed and dated.

As the date of the hearing is getting closer I am getting really anxious, is there anywhere I can go for additional support?

Yes, get in touch we us and we will help you.

I can’t contact my ACAS conciliator what should I do?

ACAS conciliators are very busy and not always available to take your calls so it is sometimes easier to email them.