The role of the witness statement form is primarily to address the issues that the employment tribunal will need to determine at the hearing. The witness statement is an employer’s way of setting out their stall and will discuss the reasons why, and the evidence for the employer to successfully defend their claim.

A witness statement in a case of normal length could easily be 3,500 to 6,000 words. It is important to focus on the key issues and follow the following guideline on how to prepare a witness statement.

1. Tell the Tribunal a story. Your witness statement is essentially a story to the tribunal. It’s your first-hand account of what has happened to bring you to the tribunal. As the employer, it’s your job to provide a good narrative. You should include details of the organisation, what you do and how large or small you are. It’s also important to include a description of the other party and describe your relationship with them.

Remember that the tribunal will have no knowledge of your organisation or the situation leading up to the hearing, so be sure to give them the full picture.

1. Keep it simple and relevant and remember to set out what happened chronologically so that it is easy to follow. Make sure you include a description of any process or training requirements that are relevant. Keep the statement relevant to the issues the Tribunal has to determine.

iii.   Include details of any relevant policies and procedures for consideration by the Tribunal.

1. Cross reference the evidence to your Joint Bundle, to say if you are relying on a breach of a policy refer to the specific page in the Joint Bundle that sets out the rule or definition.
2. Honesty is the best policy: What a lot of employers or employees don’t realise is that within disclosure, both parties need to include evidence that may go against their case. You can’t just cherry pick the documents that help your case. Witness statements need to be an honest portrayal of what actually happened.