TASK INSTRUCTIONS

Ideally to work in Pairs the aim is to give you an opportunity to

have a go at Interviewing a witness and prepare an outline
witness statement suitable for use in the Tribunal in a
Dismissal case.
Each of you will undertake two roles:
1) As HR Consultant called in to take and prepare a witness
statement for the Company - you will need to interview
your partner.
2) As ONE of the two witnesses
ONE of you should take the role of the HR Manager and
the other the LINE Manager.
NOTE A WITNESS STATEMENT FOR A TRIBUNAL IS A VERY
DIFFERENT LOOKING DOCUMENT THAN THAT WHICH YOU
MAY PREPARE FOR A DISCIPLINARY HEARING, and FACTS and
DATES are very important (although it is wise to get these right
for a disciplinary too).
OUTLINE REQUIREMENTS FOR A WITNESS STATEMENT ARE
GIVEN ON THE NEXT PAGE:
Interviewers should:
Use questions to obtain:

the facts of the case

the background/information about the witness

background information about the company

why certain decision were made or not made

any other relevant information

use of open and closed questions.

FORMAL LAYOUT OF WITNESS STATEMENTS FOR TRIBUNALS

Compulsory Heading:
IN THE EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL
John A Wol v The Sacking Company
CASE NUMBER 2010/45678
WITNESS STATEMENT FOR MR(S) YOURSELF
1. My full name if ************ and my address is *****************. I
started work at a Line Manager (HR Manager) for The Sacking Company in
***** 200*. I am still in that role.
2. John A Wol joined the company as a clerk in April 2009.
The following paragraphs should give the Witnesses version of events and when
meetings were held etc giving dates and times where possible (in this case you
will need to make them up).
Each page should repeat the Case No and names of the parties and be numbered.
Also a provision for signature and date at the end.
Basically a witness statement should set out:
Content (in numbered paragraphs for each new point)
Setting the scene (an introduction to the witness and company)
A review of the relevant facts in chronological order giving dates and times wherever
possible
A conclusion of the outcome and why decision were made
Presentation
Layout (inclusion of case number, parties etc)
Structure, readability, organisation of material
Inclusion and presentation of appropriate information & facts
A witness will have to read this out at a Tribunal Hearing (known as Evidence in Chief)
so it is important that it accurate and factual avoid subjective comments.

HR Consultant
You are an independent HR Consultant and have been asked to draw up witness statements for a company
who will shortly be attending an employment tribunal.
There will be two main witnesses for the company:

The line manager who conducted the disciplinary and dismissal

The HR Manager who conducted the disciplinary / dismissal with the line manager
Your task is to prepare for the interview with one of the these witnesses, and consider the appropriate way
to write a witness statement from the interview that will present your organisations case at the employment
tribunal.
The Case
All you know about the situation at the moment is that it is an unfair dismissal claim and this involves an
employee who was dismissed for unauthorised absence.
You understand that the applicant, Mr John A. Wol, went absent on two separate occasions. After the first
incident the line manager had a meeting with John and told him that unauthorised absence was
unacceptable and confirmed the procedures to be followed in the event of not being able to attend work.
You have a copy of the company handbook and the disciplinary procedure clearly states that unauthorised
absence can amounts to gross misconduct, and clear guidance is given with regards to reporting absence.
After the second incident, and following a disciplinary meeting, John was dismissed for gross misconduct.
John appealed against his dismissal and the appeal was heard by the Finance Director (in line with the
disciplinary procedure).
You have no other details about the facts at this time, you will need to interview ONE of the Witnesses
Other details you have been provided with
The applicants name is Mr John A. Wol
His position in the company was data entry clerk
The company name is Play Role Ltd
The case number is 2010 / 45678
John has been employed by the Company for just over a year.
Extracts from the ET 1
John A. Wol makes the following statement on the ET application (ET1 form).
I was unfairly dismissed for being absent from work. I did not phone the company as I had had an accident
and was hospitalised. When I was discharged I found a letter terminating my employment.

I was not given an opportunity to explain my reasons for absence before I was dismissed.
John is claiming unfair and wrongful dismissal and is asking for compensation.

Witnesses to be interviewed
Line Manager your facts and recollections dismissing John A Wol
You are a line manager and you will shortly be attending an employment tribunal as a witness. You have
been advised that an HR Consultant will be meeting with you to draw up your witness statement in
preparation of the ET.
For the purposes of the interview, for any general questions about the company or department,
use your current or a previous place of work to describe the details (think about this before the
interview).
The applicant John A. Wol, was dismissed by you for unauthorised absence. He had been with
the company for just over a year and you knew you should have got rid of him sooner and
avoided this stupid tribunal thing! Generally John was pretty average at everything. His time
keeping was not great and his standard of work left little to inspire!!
He then started to be absent, to begin with a day here and there and you would normally get a call or
message mid morning.
He was then absent on a couple of occasions and didnt even bother phoning in. The first time was for a
period of three days and on his return you pulled him into your office and told him that his conduct was
unacceptable. You did not issue a warning or confirm this in writing to him but told him the company
procedure and referred him to the employee handbook. The reason he gave for his absence was that he was
unwell and had been unable to get to a phone. You did not believe this was an acceptable explanation and
told him so (in no uncertain terms).
The second occasion about three months later, was for six working days. When he returned to work you
had an initial meeting with him. He again stated that he was unwell and could not get to a phone. You were
annoyed, to say the least, so you contacted the HR department and asked them what you could do about it.
The HR Manager advised you to hold a disciplinary meeting with John. HR wrote a letter on your behalf
inviting John to attend a meeting the next working day.
The meeting was attended by yourself and the HR Manager. During the meeting John was asked to explain
why he was absent, and again he repeated that he was not well and could not get to a phone. He was asked
whether he had a phone at home, and he said he did not. He was asked if he had a mobile telephone and he
said he did, but that it was a pay as you go and he had no credit on it.
There may have been other general questions asked during the meeting (to consider before the
meeting)
It was again stated in the meeting the correct procedure that should be followed.
The meeting was adjourned for you to consider appropriate action and was to be reconvened the following
day. The next day John did not turn up for work and there was no message from him. After three days, you
and the HR Manager decided to terminate Johns employment and a letter was sent to John stating that the
outcome of the disciplinary meeting was that his conduct amounted to gross misconduct under the
companys disciplinary procedure and his employment was being terminated without notice.
A week later the Finance Director received a letter from John appealing against his dismissal. The Finance
Director discussed the matter with you prior to the appeal and again afterwards and asked you some
questions about what had happened.
The Finance Director tells you that Johns grounds for wishing to appeal were that he had had an accident
on the way home from work the evening after the disciplinary and had spent the last four days in hospital.

You tell the FD that John had been absent without authorisation on two other occasions and that he had
been given every chance. As far as you are concerned this latest incident makes no difference. Surely he
could have asked someone from the hospital to make a call and he would have been able to make a call
from the hospital pay phone. As far as you are concerned John is just trying it on.
The next thing you heard was that the company had received an ET application.

Witnesses to be interviewed
HR Manager your facts and recollections of what took place
A line manager asked you about an employee John A. Wol, who had been absent without authorisation for a
period of six days. You were also told that this was the second occasion this had happened (the line
manager did not report the first occasion to you) and that the employees attendance generally was pretty
poor. You recommended that formal disciplinary action be initiated. You are aware that unauthorised
absence can amount to gross misconduct under the companys disciplinary procedure. You write the letter
on behalf of the line manager inviting the employee to attend a meeting the following day.
You attended the meeting with the line manager. During the meeting John states that he was not well and
could not get to a phone. Questions were asked about whether he had access to a phone and he said he did
not have a phone at home and his mobile was a pay as you go and had run out of credit. He said his absence
was due to a cold. You asked further questions about his domestic arrangements and found that he lives
alone. You ask whether there are any neighbours he could call on in such a situation.
When he was asked whether he was aware of the company policy on absence reporting he said not really.
You asked him about the previous meeting John had had with his line manager and John seemed very
vague about it. John recalls his manager being angry with him for not coming into work for a few days.
You get a similar response when questions are asked about the reporting procedure.
The line manager was not happy with Johns response to this and talks about the meeting they had
following his previous unauthorised absence and reminds him that he clearly told him the procedure and
that it was unacceptable. John shrugged his shoulders at these comments. You asked John whether he had
read the employee handbook he says no he has lost his copy.
The rest of the meeting is spent discussing and confirming the company policy on absence and that
unauthorised absence is very serious and could amount to gross misconduct. It is clearly stated that it is his
responsibility to make sure the company is notified if he cannot attend work.
The meeting was then adjourned for you to consider appropriate action and was to be reconvened the
following day. The next day John did not turn up for work and there was no message from him. The line
manager is furious and keen to send a letter immediately terminating employment. You persuade the line
manager to wait a few days. You try to contact John by phone (using his mobile number that you confirmed
with him during the disciplinary meeting) but get no reply. After three days the line manager is hopping
mad! You raise your concerns with him and discuss what action you would have taken after the disciplinary
meeting if John had not then gone on unauthorised absence (i.e would you have dismissed or issued a final
written warning). The manager is in no mood for games and says it makes no difference he would have
sacked him anyway. You point out your concerns to the line manager but eventually you agree to terminate
Johns employment. A letter is sent to John stating that the outcome of the disciplinary meeting was that his
conduct amounted to gross misconduct under the companys disciplinary procedure and his employment
was being terminated without notice.
A week later the Finance Director received a letter from John appealing against his dismissal. The Finance
Director discusses the matter with you prior to the appeal and again afterwards and asks you some question
about what had happened.
The FD tells you that John attended the meeting he stated that his grounds for wishing to appeal were that
the reason he was absent for the third time (immediately after the disciplinary meeting), was that he had
had an accident on the way home from work that evening and had spent the last four days in hospital. He
was unable to get to a telephone. When he was discharged he found the letter confirming his employment
had been terminated.

You tell the FD that the line manager was adamant that he wanted to dismiss as this was the third occasion
of unauthorised absence. You confirm that unauthorised absence is described as gross misconduct and so it
might have had nothing to do with his further unauthorised absence.
However you also point out that had John not been absent immediately after the disciplinary meeting, you
would have recommended a final written warning rather than dismissal.

Observation of Interviews (where appropriate)

Feedback and confirmation of facts