Witness Statements for Employment Tribunal

[FlamingParrot]

If you draft a witness statement for an Employment Tribunal case, does that mean you will be required to attend the hearing? Or can they just rely on your written evidence without the need to cross-examine you as a witness or ask you to give oral evidence?

[judgemental24]

Re: Witness Statements for Employment Tribunal

Yes you will have to attend as a witness statement is a statement of truth.

A Tribunal is still a court of law (Devlin)

As a court of law everyone has a right to face their accusers and examine the evidence put before the court

A witness can be excused if both the Claimant and Respondent agree

In DWP Tribunals the witness statement from the DWP will be sufficient as they will abide by the courts ultimate decision unless appealed on a point of law

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Witness Statements for Employment Tribunal

Yes you will have to attend as a witness statement is a statement of truth.

A Tribunal is still a court of law (Devlin)

As a court of law everyone has a right to face their accusers and examine the evidence put before the court

A witness can be excused if both the Claimant and Respondent agree

That makes sense and is in line with what I thought, however, I was chatting with some people who told me that wasn't the case.

So the other side needs to agree to you not being present? What happens if you provide a signed statement then say you won't be able to be present at the hearing? Does it just get dismissed?

[judgemental24]

Re: Witness Statements for Employment Tribunal

Depends on the reason why you cannot attend and how the judge views it in consultation with all parties. Hearsay evidence can be included only if it is pertinent to the case. Very rare that hapens.

If they accept the statement of truh anyway and it was discovered beyond a reasonable doubt you were economical with the truth, sanctions can apply as it is signed as a statement of truth

The other party can agree they accept the witness statement into evidence and you need not attend. That is only with their agreement

A Tribunal is covered under CPR the same as a county court, but a bit more relaxed due to the large numbers of LIP

[R0b]

Re: Witness Statements for Employment Tribunal

Think we had a discussion about this on another post except where the witness wanted to be anonymous. Same rules apply, a witness statement will be deemed as hearsay evidence if the party has no right to cross examine the witness. The tribunal will consider a number of factors when applying any weight to the hearsay statement. By not attending it's likely you will already be at a disadvantage than you would be if you were to attend, but that's not to say it is instantly dismissed. The tribunal must take into account the relevant factors and when deciding to give any weight to the hearsay evidence.