Day 168 - 03 Oct 95 - Page 34
1 they are required.
2
3 Q. So they are in no sense formal breaks; they are just if
4 someone says: "I would like to go and have a drink"?
5 A. Yes. If someone is on the till and says they are
6 thirsty, then they can go and get a break, go and get a
7 drinks break. We obviously try to stagger it so not
8 everybody is going at the same time but .....
9
10 Q. It is not really a break at all; it is just going for a
11 drink?
12 A. That is right. It is not regarded as a substitute for
13 a break. It is just a chance for them to sort of quench
14 their thirst.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: I am doing it in the order of your statement even
17 if I am not going through all the matters, but coming on to
18 performance reviews: You said you have never known a PR to
19 be more than three months late?
20 A. In my experience, that is true, yes.
21
22 Q. So, if someone has a PR that is, say, two months late and
23 it leads to a pay rise?
24 A. That pay rise is back dated to the day when the PR
25 would have been given, and it should be marked accordingly
26 on the performance review.
27
28 Q. When a probationary review is late, is that back dated?
29 A. The probationary review for a start should not be late
30 because it should be done within four weeks at the latest,
31 but ideally three weeks. The idea of aiming for the three
32 weeks is so you are within the four week period. But if
33 the probationary review is late, then it would be back
34 dated to that particular date and, accordingly, if the pay
35 rise is awarded, then that will be back dated too.
36
37 Q. It does happen from time to time that a probationary review
38 is not ------
39 A. There are times when reviews are late where it should
40 be back dated.
41
42 Q. Right. When someone gets a pay rise, could you give us
43 some kind of percentage of what people get nought pence
44 following a pay review and what percentage get five pence?
45 A. Obviously, it would depend on the -----
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What get no rise at all and what get ------
48 A. I would say it is -- you are a lot more likely to get a
49 rise than not to get a rise.
50
51 MR. MORRIS: Right. So let us say just a rough percentage that
52 would get -----
53 A. I do not -- I should imagine that, for instance, if
54 I did 15 PRs a month, may be two of those people would not
55 get a rise.
56
57 Q. Would the majority get the five pence?
58 A. The majority would get either a five or a 10 pence
59 rise, that is right.
60
