Day 152 - 11 Jul 95 - Page 77


     
     1        week, if you had three people either no show or be sick.
     2        Therefore, we only needed to find three people out of a
     3        crew base of 30 over 18 workers, if it happened to be a
     4        close where they had not turned up.  Therefore, of that 30
     5        people, as I remember, probably half of them would have
     6        been willing to come in to do extra hours, if they were
     7        requested.  So, it never really presented a difficulty.
     8
     9   MR. MORRIS:  The reality is, is it not, Mr. Davis, that if you
    10        had any problems, people that were working in the store,
    11        the temptation was either to carry on employing the under
    12        18s into beyond the period when they are legally entitled
    13        to work, or to tell the rest of the employees that they
    14        would have to work past the end of their agreed schedule to
    15        compensate and, really, there would be very little choice?
    16        A.  Sorry, is that a question?
    17
    18   Q.   Yes.
    19        A.  Sorry, can you -----
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It was the same matter as I put to you really
    22        in different words.
    23
    24   MR. MORRIS:  You said in your statement about under 18s working
    25        illegal hours could not happen now or, indeed, since 87/88
    26        because all stores have a computer system which will not
    27        let employees work or be paid for work beyond that time.
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can I just check because I thought that only
    30        went back three or four years or perhaps -----
    31        A.  1990, I believe.
    32
    33   Q.   1990, you say?
    34        A.  Yes.
    35
    36   MR. MORRIS:  That is what I thought.
    37        A.  That is the scheduling computer.
    38
    39   MR. MORRIS:  That is right.
    40        A.  What I may be referring to in my statement would be the
    41        hunter which is a clocking on and clocking off machine
    42        which is a separate computer, and that also when you key in
    43        the particulars of a particular crew member, so you key in
    44        whether they are under 18 or over 18, male or female, and
    45        that performs the same function in that.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  When did the hunter go in?
    48        A.  I believe about 1987/1988, and then on top of that the
    49        scheduling computer went in about 1990.
    50 
    51   MS. STEEL:    Can I just ask about this computer?  Would that 
    52        also prevent crew who were under 18 from working more than 
    53        48 hours a week, which we also heard was against the law?
    54        A.  I do not actually know the answer to that one.  I would
    55        assume if it was against the law that it would prevent that
    56        as well.
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I would like just while it is on my mind to
    59        ask about the hunter, because I understand that when you
    60        are putting a schedule into a computer, if you were

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