Day 125 - 12 May 95 - Page 21


     
     1        During the peak periods of the day it can be.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What do you want to do?  Are you thinking
     4        about something specifically, or just thinking what you
     5        have to ask about?
     6
     7   MS. STEEL:   Yes, I am going through to ask -----
     8
     9   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just sit down for a moment and see where you
    10        are.  Can Mr. Morris ask some questions while you consider
    11        that?  You can come back to it.  It is obviously convenient
    12        if you finish with one particular document, but it is not
    13        the end of the world if you leave it and come back to it
    14        later.
    15
    16   MS. STEEL:  Just one thing, in America, the employment of the
    17        crew members is -- you described it as -- "at will"; that
    18        is correct, is it not?
    19        A.  At will?
    20
    21   Q.   Yes.  Basically you can sack them without any notice.  They
    22        have not any right to stay on.  You can just terminate
    23        their employment at any time?
    24        A.  I would not say that is a fair statement.  We would
    25        not, knowingly, terminate an employee without good reason,
    26        unless there was a fall-off in business.  If the sales of
    27        the restaurant dropped precipitously, then obviously we
    28        would have to adjust, make some adjustments, adjust the
    29        size of staff.  So we would, unfortunately, have to
    30        terminate employees because of that.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Terminate their employment?
    33        A.  With us in that particular store, but the fact they are
    34        good employees, we would certainly give them reference to
    35        another restaurant.  That does not happen that often but it
    36        has happened, and, as I mentioned earlier, their skills are
    37        translatable, so there are other McDonald's restaurants in
    38        the area that would happily pick up those employees if
    39        something unfortunate had happened like that.
    40
    41   MS. STEEL:  But in terms of notice, they are not entitled to any
    42        notice, are they?  The crew members are not entitled to any
    43        notice?  You can terminate them there and then?
    44        A.  Usually -- if you are referring to the example -----
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You are not being asked at the moment what
    47        the normal practice is.  It may come to that, but that is
    48        not what you are being asked at the moment.  It is whether
    49        a crew member is entitled to any notice, be it a week, 14
    50        days, whatever.  So that they either work through that 
    51        notice, continuing to get paid, or if they are asked, 
    52        nevertheless, to leave, they are entitled to be paid for 
    53        that period.
    54        A.  It is my recollection that no notice is required.
    55
    56   MS. STEEL:  I am not quite clear what rights any of the
    57        employees have.  Presumably the terms of employment are
    58        what is set out in the Crew Handbook?
    59        A.  That is correct.
    60

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