Strength in numbers

Claimants often feel disadvantaged by the fact that they are the only person giving evidence on their own side, while the employer turns up mob-handed.

Don’t let this worry you. First, it’s what usually happens, and for good reason. Most ET hearings are about dismissal, one way or another. It only takes one person to be dismissed, but it usually takes at least 3 and often several more to dismiss: a line-manager, an investigator, a manager to make the decision to dismiss, another to hear the appeal, and probably at least one and often 2 or 3 HR professionals.

Secondly, almost all the people who have relevant evidence to give about what has happened in your former workplace will be employees of your former employer. Even if they sympathise with you, the chances are they will be reluctant to get involved.

Finally – it really doesn’t matter anyway. Tribunals are used to seeing a large imbalance of numbers, and they don’t decide cases by counting votes. And witnesses are at least as likely to score own goals as to advance their own side’s case. The more witnesses your former employers call, the more shots they give you or your representative at discrediting their story.