Day 180 - 31 Oct 95 - Page 50
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Pause there. (Pause)
2
3 MR. MORRIS: Do you have any comment on the fact that McDonald's
4 does not pay overtime?
5 A. Yes, I do. It could have been in breach of statute;
6 apparently, from the figures, systematic abuse, systematic
7 underpayment, apparently, because the wages inspectors, in
8 my own direct experience, would have always taken a dim
9 view of the non-application of the law.
10
11 If monitoring figures available during a period when Wages
12 Council rates did apply were available showing these kinds
13 of long hours without an overtime premium available, there
14 would be a prima facie case for an enquiry, no doubt at
15 all.
16
17 MS. STEEL: It is, basically, just what we have been on, but
18 I thought it might be helpful if we actually looked at the
19 Wages Council order for 1986, so that Mr. Pearson can
20 explain. We have not had anyone to explain what the right
21 charts are and how everything fits in. I do not know.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You ask him if you want. At the moment, the
24 evidence I have heard, which is from a McDonald's witness,
25 is that they were reassured that, provided the figure at
26 the end of the week came to at least what the figure would
27 be if you were paid the minimum rate plus time and a half
28 in overtime, then you were not in breach of the Wages
29 Council provision. If you want to ask Mr. Pearson about
30 that, then do so.
31
32 MS. STEEL: OK.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: At some stage, in any event, if you want to
35 press this home -- I mean, I may as well suggest this to
36 you now -- you are going to have to do some sums. You
37 might take Mr. Alimi, for instance, and work out if he
38 worked so many hours in a week at such and such a rate, but
39 was not paid time and a half after 39, would he still be
40 higher than the person who was paid the Wages Council basis
41 for 39 hours and then time and a half thereafter, or would
42 he come out at less than that figure; so that, even on
43 McDonald's construction of the provision, he was paid too
44 little.
45
46 MS. STEEL: Right.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I mean, I may do some sums myself, but you
49 should not count on me doing all the homework on something
50 like that.
51
52 MS. STEEL: (To the witness): If you could get pink volume XII,
53 please and turn to tab 26, which is the Wages Council,
54 Unlicensed Place of Refreshment Wages Council order
55 effective as from 13th June 1986. Tab 26.
56 A. I have found it.
57
58 Q. Sorry. You heard what was being said about if the
59 cumulative amount of pay was -- I cannot say it all again.
60
