Being called as a witness to an employment tribunal

Following on from this thread t’other day I’m now being called as a witness to the court hearing.

This puts me in a really awkward position as it’s a small company any questions asked could put my job in jeopardy. Has anyone got any advice at all?

(the best I’ve come up with so far is finding someone with swine flu & giving them a good snog, hopefully then putting me on my sick bed at the time of the hearing)

Without being too blunt, have some ethics & back bone please.
Stand up for the the colleague and provide honest evidence, as asked of you.
Despite Small company & sometimes small minded thinking that goes with them, they will respect you more for being reliable with evidence, in giving an honest account regardless of the direction it could have on the firm Vs employee bringing the claim.
If your employer hasn’t acted reasonably is it right you then assist in glossing over their behaviours(?).
Karma will get you in years to come pending what you do here!
Best of luck in having some morales and doing the right thing.

just answer questions with facts

presumably they shouldn’t ask for your opinion on things

Perhaps been too harsh, as see your company is holding threat of email/internet mis-use policy against you.
Are you allowed to access facebook on work PC? if so, then employer has not taken adequate steps to prevent your breaching policy and therefore would be hard pushed to inforce any considered breach of said policy.
I still say though, own up to your email exchanges, as much as your friend breaches the unwritten code of conduct concerning sending messages to each other and then not using them at a later stage to his/her own advantage – that sought of behaviour sucks!

You cannot be discriminated against or attacked by telling the truth.

If your employer is the sort to seek some form of ‘revenge’ on you for getting them in trouble from what you say then i would advise looking for a more liberal workplace.

Just present the facts – answer the questions, not what you think the question is aiming at and then you will not be in anyones sights.

oh and good luck too.

the whole main issue is he was sacked for a very minor misdemeanor. I don’t know all the facts – I’ve heard both sides of the story & it’s mostly hearsay rather than firm facts, along with a matter of pride on my bosses side & my mates trying to get what he can out of him.

At the end of this I still need a job, as my colleague has found in the 6 months since he’s been sacked there aren’t any jobs in our industry about in our area.

Times are tough if you’re out of work at the moment – if you have a family to feed & shelter, the high moral ground won’t pay the bills

This other guy seems to be using you to make his point – he’s hoping to walk away with a payout – you could end up where he is without the money

I’ve worked in enough small [& not so small] companies to know that ‘payback’ is a reality – if they wanted to, they’d simply manage you out of a job.

Sorry, but it’s just too risky at the moment to put yourself in the firing line just so someone else can get some cash.

I’d avoid the tribunal or give evidence & forget some of the details

You tell the truth as you see it and you don’t offer opinion.

If asked about specific things that you know are only hearsay you say that. “when communicating with Fred I said that blah blah blah but I have no real evidence of that” sort of thing

Do whats right and tell the truth

just answer questions with facts

presumably they shouldn’t ask for your opinion on things
Well sort of… My wife brought a tribunal against her employers (made redundant whilst pregnant) and asked her boss (who is a company director) to be a witness.

The only responsibility is to listen, take notes, ensure that BOTH SIDES are protected from accusations by the other party etc.

Remember – you are being called as a witness to the tribunal, NOT give evidence one way or the other on behalf of one party and you are NOT REQUIRED to be answering any questions at all and are completely within your rights to refuse to answer any questions should they be asked (which they shouldn’t be).

EDIT – just noticed it is a court hearing (not an internal process). So not sure if you will be required to answer questions after all. Sorry. 🙁

I guess the question is will your employer do you for doing your duty in court?

I’d like to think I’d “do the right thing”.

Oh and TJ seems to have not repeated it, JOIN A UNION. Do it now or at lunchtime.

Kick your “mate” in the teeth for placing you in a very precarious position?

Claim the 5th Amendment?

enfit – you watch too much american TV. What earthly use is the 5th amendment of the American constitution have here

Seems to me that your mate has pulled a pretty shifty move on you, so I wouldn’t be too worried about helping him out. You said in the other thread that you can refuse to have the evidence submitted – is it too late for that now?

Some unions won’t help with legal representation arising within three months of your joining – in order to prevent chancers who only join when there’s trouble.

You’re on your own. Just do the right thing.

I’m guessing you were slagging your company off in the conversation? If so it’s not going to go down to well :p I can’t believe you’d get more than a warning for using a chat program in work time (first offence) unless it’s clearly stated as a severe offence in your Internet AUP.

TJ that was my sense of humour that shot past you. I could have been even funnier and said join a union but you wouldn’t have got that either 🙂

MTFU and tell the truth

Karma

I and my workmates were asked to give formal statements and speak to our HR bods about a claim for constructive dismissal by a colleague at a company I worked for a few years ago.

I took advice, and simply gave a statement outlining facts – dates, times and the rest. The interview part was not taped, and notes were not taken. Had my Union had the onions, I would have had a rep in the room with me, but they didn’t – I was on my own.

As above, if you are asked to speak in court, give factual evidence, not your opinion or hearsay. you say in an earlier thread that your ‘mate’ has submitted a transcript of a Facebook chat with him as evidence, which is a bit cheeky of him, and you will most likely be asked about that as well. I’d ask for a copy of the transcript before you talk about it – I’m assuming you were discussing rumour and hearsay and giving your own opinions, rather than discussing facts. The court will be interested in factual matters, not on how hard-done-by your mate and his co-workers feel.

Bear in mind you will have to look in the mirror every morning for the rest of your life, and act accordingly.

Hostile Witness.

When the First mate on a ship, runs the ship aground,he looks around himself,for other people to sink with him,and this is usually the second mate,not the captain,who is not involved.