A former employee and employment tribunal

[Brightstar84]

NC for this and won’t go into too much detail.

I work for a large multinational company. A direct line report of mine was dismissed for gross misconduct earlier this year. I had managed his underperformance (fairly and in line with company policy) and was obliged to carry out the first stage investigation in the gross misconduct case (for an issue that was raised independently and notified to me as line manager....I didn’t ‘go looking’) but thereafter the disciplinary process was run independently.

Over the last few months I’ve had various requests for information from our HR team all of which I’ve complied with.

Now I have had a formal notification of a tribunal hearing next year. Will I be likely called to tribunal In person? Does this run like a court case with evidence givers called etc? Whilst I am confident I have done the right thing throughout I must say the thought is terrifying. I’ve had very little support from my own organisation other than constant requests for information, I feel like I am under interrogation too. Who would be a line manager.

Can anyone with experience let me know what I should expect and whether there is anything I need to do to protect myself here?

You can be called, whether you would be depends on whether there is any disparity between your version of events and that of the applicant.

Are you a union member? They can guide you through the process, and support you if your employer becomes difficult with you. One thing to be aware of is that the information you have passed to HR may be edited before it is put forward as evidence. Again, this is something you can talk through with the union, should you feel you are being put in an unfair position.

Do you know exactly what the claim is for? Is there a discrimination element to it?

If it helps, these issues are often settled before it gets to hearing. Even when the merits of the case are low, it can be cheaper for an employer to settle than have the expense of a full hearing. That's very much down to the individual case, and your employer's attitude to claims (will they fight it on principle, or take a costs v benefits approach and settle to make it go away).

Ive been to a tribunal although it was about a company briefing i had to do as a line manager where T&Cs were being changed, a large group of employees took group action and my employee had said id told her she'd lose her job if she didnt agree to new contract (i hadn't!).

It was held in courts but in an office setting with the judge at the top table, i had the Company lawyer with me and was questioned quite extensivley, obviously to get to say that i did threaten her with her job. The employee declined to be at the hearing. I just stuck to the facts, although i felt guilty!.

Did you make the decision to dimiss or did you just carry out the process upto dimissmal stage?

I would think HR are making sure you followed the process correctly, if you have to go you can only talk about the decisions you made and why.

I’m not in the Union, the employee is, and they are being militant.

The employee is claiming they were being managed unfairly and that the decision to dismiss was also unfair. I had no say in the decision to dismiss. The claims of unfair performance management had already been taken to grievance by the employee and not been upheld.

Just worried that I’m now going to have this hanging over me for months.

And to clarify the claim is for unfair dismissal and loss of earnings

I would give ACAS a call but i think your part has already been resolved, the employee has raised a grievance which your employer hasnt upheld so they will have already investigated and found that you did no wrong. I thought the person took to tribuneral is the person who decided to dismiss as they will have to justify why they made that decision.

Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

First things first, even if you are called as a witness at the tribunal, even if you are personally named on the claim, it is the company being sued not you personally, and even if you were found to be in some way at fault, the company should be liable for your actions, so please don't worry too much about any personal issues or needing to protect yourself, there shouldn't be a need to call ACAS or take personal legal advice (do so if it would reassure you of course).

Your company should hire a solicitor and/or barrister to manage the whole tribunal process and they should advise you and support you through the whole thing, what to expect etc. They may also be able to negotiate an out of court settlement (particularly if they think the company is likely to lose!) which would avoid the need for a hearing at all, so don't panic yet. I do think as line manager and first stage investigation manager you are fairly likely to be called as a witness if it does get as far as a court hearing though, so to let you know what to expect:

-I'm afraid it will be months before it gets to a hearing at all, and usually the first hearing is a case management/instructions hearing rather than the final/resolution hearing. It will probably be 6 months- a year before it is listed for final hearing due to court backlogs- on the plus side a lot of claimants drop out in the process particularly if they don't have a strong case so you may find it goes away by itself. As a witness you won't have to attend a case management hearing, your solicitor/HR will deal with that. I know it's easier said than done but try not to let it worry you in the meantime.

-Hearings are held in a court room, but as pp says it is more like a slightly large/fancy office or meeting room than a TV style/criminal court room with docks and audience galleries etc! It is however an adversarial process with barristers in wigs etc. Personally I have been a witness in tribunals many times and actually find it a bit less nerve wracking than an internal disciplinary meeting, because it is a very formal and controlled environment and you feel more distant from the actual person, but appreciate that is a personal thing...

-If you are called as a witness, your solicitor will work with you to draw up a witness statement which will form the main basis of your evidence. You will probably be asked to read this out in court and can be questioned on it by the judge and the opposing side's barrister - this is the scariest part but your solicitor/barrister should prepare you for the questions they are likely to ask and usually the process is very courteous - certainly the judge or your barrister will intervene to stop any aggressive or irrelevant questioning or rudeness etc. The statement and questioning will be limited to your role in the process so you shouldn't be asked why he was dismissed etc.

Hope this helps, do try to take things one step at a time, of course it is not good that he is sueing the company but if you have confidence you did everything by the book there's nothing for you to worry about and there's every chance it may not end up in court at all...

Thank you so much @maxelly, hugely helpful