Please urgent help response to appear as witness in employment tribunal

[frogsfromrumrah]

An employer I left nearly a year ago contacted me 3 days ago and said they needed me to appear as a witness in an employment tribunal case next week. I had no previous idea there was a case in existence that would ever involve me. I am self employed now and as this employer awful and stressful to work for I said that I did not want to attend court because of the stress and the fact I would lose money as a self employed person and I didn't want to mess my clients about. Instead I provided a statement and helped the solicitor accordingly.
Then The next day the solicitor called and tried to push me harder to go to court and I said no that I did not want the stress and that I didn't want to mess my clients about.
I got home tonight and have got in the post a 'witness order to give evidence' for next Tuesday! The court is 2 hours away from my home and nearly 4 hrs away from the client I am meant to be working for that day. I have no one to take my 4year old son to school that day and I don't see how I can be forced this way.
The letter says I can make an application under rule 29 for the order to be varied suspended or set aside.
How do I do this? Do I need to see a solicitor now and incur costs myself? For the solicitor and missing work tomorrow?. Please help any advice. Thank you

You have to go. It's an order to attend, and failing to do so is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of £1,000.

You don't have to submit a statement in writing beforehand, but you do need to attend on the day.

You can ask the court to reconsider if your attendance is necessary, but before a witness order is sent, the court considers if the person is really required, so this is unlikely to be overturned. You can also apply for the date to be changed but this has mixed success, and it's only likely to be moved by a day or two.

Thanks for reply. so what if I pay the £1000 and say no thanks? Do I get a criminal record? I can't really afford it but I don't see why I should help this ex employer out by losing money myself!

I'd also have to take my son out of school to join me, as have no one to take him that day.

It's a fine, so you can't opt to pay it, unfortunately.

It's ill-advised to request that someone who doesn't want to be a witness is called. You don't have to submit any evidence in writing prior to court, so they wouldn't be able to pre-empt what you say, and that usually means it is more risky than it is worth.

Regardless, legally you need to attend the court on that date, or call the court and explain that you cannot attend. Depending on your importance, they may simply allow you not to attend, or they may try to reschedule. If they cannot do either, you'll have to go, or risk the fine.

The guidelines for claimants at employment tribunals reads;

"You may ask a tribunal to issue a witness order, which will summon someone that you want to have at the hearing, even if they do not wish to attend. You must apply in writing well before the hearing, so the court can consider your request and whether the person is required.

You will need to tell the tribunal the name and address of the witness, what the witness will say and why it will help your case and why the witness is not willing to come to the hearing voluntarily.

If the court agrees that the witness is necessary, they will send a witness order, and the witness will be required to attend the court. Non attendance is a criminal offence."

Sorry, I meant to say - in most cases, the person who compels you to attend will be responsible for paying your expenses. That includes transport there, and childcare for your son.

Ok they have given me 2 working days to reschedule. I don't think that's a reasonable amount of time given I am a self employed working mum living couple of hrs away from the court. I will call the court tomorrow as you suggest. Thank you.

Basically, you can write to the court asking them to reconsider the witness order. You don't need a lawyer to do that. Just explain why. I would use:

• that you feel that the witness order was obtained on very short notice. Explain that the first you heard of the hearing was on X date, that they didn't inform you of the application and of the issues you have

• if you don't feel you have relevant evidence, say that.

• the short notice will result in a significant detriment to you as you are self employed and will lose X in fees and goodwill. Explain that you would have been able to rearrange had you been given more notice and that, since the hearing was presumably scheduled months ago, you feel that the burden on you is disproportionate.

• ask if it is a single day hearing and whether you could attend on another day (if that would help).

I would also indicate that, if you are required to attend, you will have to drop your son at school first as you have no one to do it (or would have to bring him with you, which you feel is inappropriate and detrimental to him). Therefore you will arrive at X time (is there really no other parent who could help?) and leave at Y. It does undermine your argument that you can't attend a bit, but at least if the judge has been told you won't arrive until 11 they are very unlikely to fine you for it.

BUT. And this is a stonking great BUT. Tribunals are shit at considering this type of correspondence. There is a good chance no one will look at it in time. You'd need to email it and then ring up and spend a good bit of time chasing whether it has gone in front of a judge. And since your ex employer has obviously convinced them that it was enough notice and relevant I'm not sure how far you'll get.

THANKYOU I can attend on more notice. My son is 4 and over last few months has been under specialists in terms of possible autistic spectrum traits. I do not like to mess his routine up as he is doing so well at present. My ex employer would not know this.

Put that in your letter!

I think the most persuasive point is how recently you have been told about the whole thing. The big problem is that they won't want to reschedule the whole hearing g just because your ex employer has been shit.

I hope you get it sorted.

You have been a real help. As much as thanks can be given over an Internet forum, I really mean it when I say Thank You.

No problem. Sorry not to be more positive you'll get it fixed.

Remember to quote the case number on your email and then phone phone phone. You'll get through to a clerk. Your key question is whether your letter has been put in front of the employment judge. Beg and sound panicked if they are all dismissive about how quickly that can happen- you can't afford a grand and you can't leave your son with asd with anyone else. Please help. Please see if he/she can review it today (at lunchtime if he's in a hearing?) or you won't sleep all weekend....

Well letter sent. Will see what happens. I didn't sleep a wink last night stressing about this!

Yay got it postponed. I have to attend but at least now I will have more time to organise x

Great. Probably the best result you could have hoped for.

Have a well earned or or whatever is your poison.

Let's hope you get chance to inform the court of your feelings about your ex employer. It doesn't sound like they've done themselves any favours doing this to you.

Yes I had a glass of vino. It does annoy me that I will lose a day's pay though. The compensation doesn't cover what I lose from not working. No wonder people end up on payday loans.

Now that you can plan for it, could you re-jig things so that you work one day at the weekend instead? Not sure if that's feasible, but it could be a solution.

Am I the only one hoping OP's evidence completely scuppers the employer's case

I have only just seen this but hoping the same Hermione.

And me.

Good luck. I hope the questions you are asked allow you to express what a shit employer they were.

Can you get in touch with the team for the other side to see if there are any questions they could ask you in court that would be helpful to them? I'm not sure if that's allowed.

Don't do that! Witnesses aren't allowed to discuss the questions they will be asked by either set of lawyers. If there are helpful questions then the Claimants lawyers will be very capable of thinking of them.

You area witness for the Respondent so they will only be permitted to ask questions to explain your account of relevant events . The other side will cross examine.

Don't be tempted to put together speeches on how shit they are. It isn't relevant unless it has direct bearing on the case. If you wish you could politely thank the judge for the postponement though.

Thank you for all your support. I will just tell the truth which will suit my former employer. That's why they want me in court. I just thought I had closed that chapter of my life and moved on, leaving that awful employer behind.

Good for you. Best case is that the delay annoys both sides enough that they settle!