Dear Alison. Thank you for your great presentation. I am not aware that there is a word limit for witness statements for employment tribunals. Please clarify. Thanks.
Hi some tribunals set word limits on witness statements. Those here on the south coast (Southampton and Bristol in particular) do, however I have noted in a recent case that the London Tribunal Judges don't tend to set a limit. It is important to check the Order from the Tribunal if you are unsure if you have a word limit.
Dear Alison. Thank you for your podcast, it was very helpful and also mention the issue I have. My case management order states that the witness statements has to be exchanged on 7 of September 2023, however the trial is 7,8,9,10 October 2024. It is not a mistake. Is it not risky for me , I’m the claimant, to give the respondent my statement so early ? I am worried they have so much time to fabricate and play with it. Can they amend their statement after seeing mine?
Hi thank you for your comment. The reason the Employment tribunal will often order the exchange of statements so early on is to enable both you and the Respondent to see the full details of the others claim or defence and to encourage resolution before the case proceeds to a final hearing. Once statements are exchanged if the other party submit new statements or seek to amend the statements then it can impact on the validity of their evidence. If this happens then you would need to inform the Tribunal at the start of the hearing and also cross examine the witness on why their evidence changed after seeing your statement. It would undermine their credibility as a witness if they change it. If they produce new evidence after receiving your statement then again you would question the truth of that evidence and why it was not provided at the correct time of exchange. I understand your concern and if as you fear they do add more evidence it would be worth seeking some specific advice on any steps you need to take. Happy to arrange a call with one of my colleagues if you contact the office on 01983 897003.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice Dear Alison. Thank you very much for your reply. I will represent myself in the court and I am in the process of repairing the last thing before the court trial, which is witness statement. Unfortunately, all my colleagues that I’ve approached in the beginning we are willing to help with their statements. But unfortunately now they all refused to do so because they’re still employed and don’t want any problems which I understand. On the other hand, the respondent plays really dirty and talks a lot of lies about me and fabricates staff, which, of course I will challenge in the court. I was just wondering if it will not look too bad if I have only one statement which is mine and they will have probably five times more than that. Also I meant to check with you how long should be the statement and how detailed it has to be? I worked for the company for 10 years and was forcefully removed in one day. I was promoted twice during this 10 years and I was just wondering,do I have to write the whole story from the start and my journey with the company or I just have to focus on that day when they pushed me to resign? Thank you.
Is there any room to explain the legal arguments I want to rely on before getting to the tribunal? The facts in my case are fairly straightforward and relatively undisputed, but I have quite a lot to say about why I don't agree with the employer's interpretation of the contract, why I think they have broken the law. I also have some case law and want to talk about how I believe it applies in my case and how the facts in my case apply to the tests set out in the case law.
Hi thank you for your comment. Generally you would not have an opportunity to make thes arguments to the Tribunal before the final hearing. In some circumstances you can make an application for the employers defence to be struck out on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect of success. It is rare that this is ordered but would give you an opportunity to make the arguments at a preliminary hearing. Alternatively you can always set out your position in correspondence with the employer as a way to induce them to consider settlement.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice I suppose a video on witness statements might not be the best place to ask this, but would the statement of claim not be the correct place to point towards cases that support my claim and explain why I think they do? From what I can see usually the focus is on the witness statement, but I think in my case the witness statement will be fairly straightforward as the facts and not really in much dispute. I'm pretty sure the law is on my side in all of this, but I don't think it's to the point where I could say the defence has no reasonable prospect of success. The facts don't seem outrageous. Would I not be risking pissing off the judge by making such an application?
@@saginata Hi if you have not yet made your claim then yes you should put your legal arguments and if you have them, case authorities into the particulars of your claim.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice Thank you. This is a fairly small claim and paying a lawyer does not make sense. Your channel has been very helpful in the research
If someone has provided you with a statement and then changes their mind, it is important to understand their reason for the change and see if you can reassure them about the process so that they will come to the hearing and be a witness. If you cannot persuade them to change their mind and you have a written statement from them already, then you may consider applying to the Tribunal for a witness order that would compel them to attend. You can ask for a witness order even if they have not already provided a statement, however without their evidence in writing it can be risky as you do not know what they will say at the hearing.
Hi this will depend at what stage and how the List of Issues has come about. If the List has been agreed by an Employment Tribunal Judge then you would need to apply to amend. Whether you can do so will depend on how long after the List was agreed and the reason for the amendment. If the amendment is because of the introduction of a new type of claim or new element of claim that has not previously been included then you would certainly need to apply to add the claim to your case. If the List of Issues has merely been agreed between you and the other side without the tribunal input then you can seek agreement from the other side to make the amendment. We are happy to chat through with you about the circumstances of your particular case if you want to call the office on 01983 897003.
If they lie or make a false statement after taking an oath in the Tribunal then it would be perjury. The difficulty you would have is that proving what was said during the phone call as it would be your word against them. If this happens then you should notify the Employment Tribunal Judge and produce your own statement of what was said and how this differs to the evidence given during the hearing.
Thank you. Excellent
Superb tutorial thank you
Glad you liked it
Very clear. Thank you.
Thank you for your feedback 😀
Dear Alison. Thank you for your great presentation. I am not aware that there is a word limit for witness statements for employment tribunals. Please clarify. Thanks.
Hi some tribunals set word limits on witness statements. Those here on the south coast (Southampton and Bristol in particular) do, however I have noted in a recent case that the London Tribunal Judges don't tend to set a limit. It is important to check the Order from the Tribunal if you are unsure if you have a word limit.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice Thank you so much for clarifying.
Dear Alison. Thank you for your podcast, it was very helpful and also mention the issue I have. My case management order states that the witness statements has to be exchanged on 7 of September 2023, however the trial is 7,8,9,10 October 2024. It is not a mistake. Is it not risky for me , I’m the claimant, to give the respondent my statement so early ? I am worried they have so much time to fabricate and play with it. Can they amend their statement after seeing mine?
Hi thank you for your comment. The reason the Employment tribunal will often order the exchange of statements so early on is to enable both you and the Respondent to see the full details of the others claim or defence and to encourage resolution before the case proceeds to a final hearing. Once statements are exchanged if the other party submit new statements or seek to amend the statements then it can impact on the validity of their evidence. If this happens then you would need to inform the Tribunal at the start of the hearing and also cross examine the witness on why their evidence changed after seeing your statement. It would undermine their credibility as a witness if they change it. If they produce new evidence after receiving your statement then again you would question the truth of that evidence and why it was not provided at the correct time of exchange. I understand your concern and if as you fear they do add more evidence it would be worth seeking some specific advice on any steps you need to take. Happy to arrange a call with one of my colleagues if you contact the office on 01983 897003.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice Dear Alison. Thank you very much for your reply. I will represent myself in the court and I am in the process of repairing the last thing before the court trial, which is witness statement. Unfortunately, all my colleagues that I’ve approached in the beginning we are willing to help with their statements. But unfortunately now they all refused to do so because they’re still employed and don’t want any problems which I understand. On the other hand, the respondent plays really dirty and talks a lot of lies about me and fabricates staff, which, of course I will challenge in the court. I was just wondering if it will not look too bad if I have only one statement which is mine and they will have probably five times more than that. Also I meant to check with you how long should be the statement and how detailed it has to be? I worked for the company for 10 years and was forcefully removed in one day. I was promoted twice during this 10 years and I was just wondering,do I have to write the whole story from the start and my journey with the company or I just have to focus on that day when they pushed me to resign? Thank you.
@@svetazdravko8952did you win
Can you be the Claimant's representative and be a witness for the claimant?
Hi yes you can. Often Claimant's will represent themselves and are of course witnesses as well so the Tribunal are used to this happening.
Is there any room to explain the legal arguments I want to rely on before getting to the tribunal? The facts in my case are fairly straightforward and relatively undisputed, but I have quite a lot to say about why I don't agree with the employer's interpretation of the contract, why I think they have broken the law. I also have some case law and want to talk about how I believe it applies in my case and how the facts in my case apply to the tests set out in the case law.
Hi thank you for your comment. Generally you would not have an opportunity to make thes arguments to the Tribunal before the final hearing. In some circumstances you can make an application for the employers defence to be struck out on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect of success. It is rare that this is ordered but would give you an opportunity to make the arguments at a preliminary hearing. Alternatively you can always set out your position in correspondence with the employer as a way to induce them to consider settlement.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice I suppose a video on witness statements might not be the best place to ask this, but would the statement of claim not be the correct place to point towards cases that support my claim and explain why I think they do? From what I can see usually the focus is on the witness statement, but I think in my case the witness statement will be fairly straightforward as the facts and not really in much dispute.
I'm pretty sure the law is on my side in all of this, but I don't think it's to the point where I could say the defence has no reasonable prospect of success. The facts don't seem outrageous. Would I not be risking pissing off the judge by making such an application?
@@saginata Hi if you have not yet made your claim then yes you should put your legal arguments and if you have them, case authorities into the particulars of your claim.
@@RealEmploymentLawAdvice Thank you. This is a fairly small claim and paying a lawyer does not make sense. Your channel has been very helpful in the research
What if the witnesses don’t want to witness anymore??!!!!!
If someone has provided you with a statement and then changes their mind, it is important to understand their reason for the change and see if you can reassure them about the process so that they will come to the hearing and be a witness. If you cannot persuade them to change their mind and you have a written statement from them already, then you may consider applying to the Tribunal for a witness order that would compel them to attend. You can ask for a witness order even if they have not already provided a statement, however without their evidence in writing it can be risky as you do not know what they will say at the hearing.
Can you change your list of issues at any point?
Hi this will depend at what stage and how the List of Issues has come about. If the List has been agreed by an Employment Tribunal Judge then you would need to apply to amend. Whether you can do so will depend on how long after the List was agreed and the reason for the amendment.
If the amendment is because of the introduction of a new type of claim or new element of claim that has not previously been included then you would certainly need to apply to add the claim to your case.
If the List of Issues has merely been agreed between you and the other side without the tribunal input then you can seek agreement from the other side to make the amendment.
We are happy to chat through with you about the circumstances of your particular case if you want to call the office on 01983 897003.
If ordered to attend and they say something different to what they told you on the phone, isn't that perjury?
If they lie or make a false statement after taking an oath in the Tribunal then it would be perjury.
The difficulty you would have is that proving what was said during the phone call as it would be your word against them.
If this happens then you should notify the Employment Tribunal Judge and produce your own statement of what was said and how this differs to the evidence given during the hearing.