Day 259 - 10 Jun 96 - Page 47


     
     1
     2   MS. STEEL:   Where it says in your statement, "I am now a
     3        self-employed consultant and advise 14 different companies
     4        on payroll matters", that is solely in relation to tax
     5        matters?
     6        A.  At this moment in time, yes.
     7
     8   MR. MORRIS:  It has been since you left, from 1987?
     9        A.  Yes, that is right.
    10
    11   Q.   The postal questionnaires which you received, did you reply
    12        to them?
    13        A.  Yes.
    14
    15   Q.   From the Wage Inspectorate?
    16        A.  Yes, I did.
    17
    18   Q.   You did the replies?
    19        A.  Yes.
    20
    21   Q.   What were the kind of questions asked in these
    22        questionnaires?
    23        A.  I really do not remember.  They were run of the mill
    24        type questions.
    25
    26   Q.   For example?
    27        A.  "How many employees are you currently employing?"
    28
    29   Q.   What is the starting rate, the job?
    30        A.  There were never quite that specific, no.  They were
    31        very general questionnaires, to my knowledge.  I cannot
    32        really remember.  It is ages since I filled one in.
    33
    34   Q.   That was, you said, one of the inspection techniques,
    35        especially for the large companies, was to send postal
    36        questionnaires?
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where are we going on this?
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  I am trying to test the evidence of this witness to
    41        see what she says they were saying, what her recollection
    42        of the time is, what her understanding of the situation is.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The only possible relevance of Mrs. Pearce
    45        I see is to be taken with all the other evidence I have
    46        heard, that the system of paying a basic rate during
    47        overtime hours must have been known to Mr. Mills if he had
    48        checked any of the record, and yet he did not complain
    49        about it and he seemed to be satisfied provided that, at
    50        the end of the week, the wage was less than the minimum if 
    51        one had taken the overtime rates on top of the basic.  Now, 
    52        that is just a component of quite a lot of evidence on this 
    53        topic.
    54
    55   MR. MORRIS:  It may mean -----
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  And that he did not make any other complaints
    58        about matters.  It is not the end of the day; it is a
    59        component of all the evidence for me to take into account.
    60        If you challenge it, challenge it, please.

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