On the morning of the hearing, you should ensure that the claimant and their witnesses are present at the ET Office. If they have arrived for the hearing, they should have reported to the reception and note taken of their presence. If they have not arrived 15 minutes prior to the start of the hearing you should inform the ET staff immediately and the hearing may be delayed for a short time.
Upon meeting with the claimant and witnesses on the morning of the hearing, you should speak with them again about their evidence. If they have any queries, you should attempt to answer them and relay once again the information that they require about the hearing itself. You should ensure that the claimant and witnesses are shown where the public toilets and any refreshments are situated.
During the hearing
Once the hearing is underway, you should be mindful of the claimant’s state of mind and health and recognise if they needs a comfort break. If at any stage the claimant becomes angry or abusive, you should know how to deal with this.
It is very important that you take notes at all times, in particular during cross-examination of the claimant. A complete set of notes from the hearing will allow you to formulate questions to all witnesses during the case and allow you to make concise and useful submissions to the ET.
Hearing procedure
Although the rules of procedure are relatively flexible in terms of the order in which the case is presented, the hearing will generally observe the following pattern:
1. Claimant gives evidence – questioned by claimant’s advisor
The claimant is first to speak, as the onus is on him/her to prove the case. You should ask appropriate questions of the claimant in order that he/she can take the ET through the facts and evidence of his/her case.
2. Claimant cross-examined by respondent/respondent’s representative
The respondent will put the disputed facts to the claimant and attempt to challenge his/her credibility.
3. Claimant re-examined by claimant’s advisor
You can use the re-examination to clarify any points that may have become distorted through the respondent’s cross-examination of the claimant.
4. Claimant asked questions by the ET
Although the ET usually ask questions at this point you should be aware that the ET have an inquisitorial role and are entitled to ask questions at any point during the hearing.
5. The above four steps may then be repeated for each of the witnesses
6. Submissions are made
Although there is no formal requirement for parties to make submissions, it is helpful for the ET to hear the main points of the case summarised by each party after all the evidence has been heard.You should make a brief submission including a summary of the substance of the claimant’s case, the award sought by the claimant and the quantification of any compensation.
The decision by the ET members will normally be made at a later date, although it is possible for them to have a short adjournment and consider the decision, in straightforward cases. The claimant can expect to be notified of the decision with extended reasons for the decision approximately six weeks after the hearing. This timescale is approximate only and the length of time can depend on the particular ET office in which the hearing was dealt with.