Day 151 - 10 Jul 95 - Page 10


     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  After three weeks, do people get a pay rise?
     2        A.  They get a probationary review, as far as I can
     3        recollect.
     4
     5   Q.   They do not get a pay rise after three weeks, then?  When
     6        is their first pay rise?
     7        A.  Are we talking about now or when I was a store
     8        manager?
     9
    10   Q.   All right.  When you were a store manager or now?
    11        A.  When I was a store manager in Leicester, I believe the
    12        practice was to have a review after three weeks; they were
    13        a three week probation period; and then I believe there was
    14        a two month gap, or thereabouts, to the next review, and
    15        then, two months after that one, that was a pay review.
    16
    17   Q.   So people would not get a pay rise for four months and
    18        three weeks?
    19        A.  No, not necessarily so.  I think the managers had
    20        discretion.
    21
    22   Q.   But in general?
    23        A.  I cannot say in general.  But, certainly, the managers
    24        had discretion, I think, depending on the local
    25        environments, the unemployment situation and the economic
    26        environment, to award a pay rise on successful completion
    27        of a probation review.
    28
    29   Q.   Did that happen when you were there as manager?
    30        A.  In Leicester?
    31
    32   Q.   Yes.
    33        A.  I did not need to do it in Leicester.
    34
    35   Q.   Right.  So, in your store, people did not get a pay rise
    36        for something like four months and three weeks?
    37        A.  Yes.
    38
    39   MISS STEEL:  You said managers had a discretion, depending on
    40        the local environment and the unemployment situation?
    41        A.  Right.
    42
    43   Q.   Can you just explain what you mean by that?
    44        A.  Certainly.  If I recollect correctly, there were some
    45        pockets within the country whereby recruitment was
    46        difficult.  So I believe the manager and the supervisor --
    47        with authorisation from their, I think, senior supervisor
    48        at the time -- could look at, one, the starting rate, and
    49        then, secondly, the reviews in between.  So, for example,
    50        if someone had successfully past their probation review, 
    51        they could look at their rates of pay. 
    52 
    53   Q.   So if there were problems with hiring people, then you
    54        could offer a higher starting rate, or the crew that you
    55        did take on would get a pay rise sooner?
    56        A.  Maybe not just in terms of hiring.  It may well have
    57        been that, looking around the competition, so to speak, or
    58        those people in the market, or our particular market, the
    59        service related industry, may well have been paying
    60        slightly higher than ourselves.  So it would not

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