Day 180 - 31 Oct 95 - Page 48
1 as a member who worked quite closely with the wages
2 inspectorate, charged with monitoring the application of
3 statute in the mid-80s, late 80s, the basic formula of 39
4 hours over that time and a half was the key, was the
5 cornerstone of the system.
6
7 Up until 1986, there were also premium rates for late night
8 working, split shift payments, other premium arrangements,
9 bank holiday payments, and so forth, but they all
10 disappeared in 1986. But, until 1986, they too would be
11 part of any wages inspector's check on the workplace.
12
13 So the answer, in essence, is a 39 hour week, anything over
14 that, time and a half on the statutory minimum rate.
15
16 Q. What is the general practice in industry as a whole on
17 payment of overtime, whether it is at the statutory minimum
18 rate or not, if someone is on the minimum rate?
19 A. I mean, talking about statute for the moment, when
20 wages councils were abolished in 1993, then that left only
21 one sector of British industry with a minimum rate
22 provision and an overtime rate provision; that is the farm
23 workers, under the three agricultural wages boards, 200,000
24 staff. No other workers in Britain now enjoy statutory
25 rights to a basic working week or, indeed, to an overtime
26 rate, save for farm workers. So trade unions, workplace
27 representatives, would however now be relying not on
28 statute to reinforce, but on negotiating, to establish the
29 39 hour week as a basic, 37 in some industries, 37 to 39;
30 local government, for example, 37 hours and an overtime
31 rate, usually time and a half, depending of course on when
32 the overtime takes place, usually time and a half; and then
33 perhaps premium rates for very unsocial hours overtime.
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a moment. How many workers did
36 you say, farm workers, subject to the three agricultural
37 wages boards?
38 A. 221,000, my Lord, full- and part-time, England and
39 Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
40
41 Q. What was the policy behind that -- because farm workers, of
42 all workers, there is a propensity to work very long hours
43 indeed, particularly at certain times of the year? Was
44 that it? If it was not it, leave it, because I do not want
45 to get involved. But was that part of the reasoning?
46 A. And the embarrassment of breaching ILO conventions,
47 protecting farm workers.
48
49 MR. MORRIS: Sorry -- ILO, is that International -----
50 A. International Labour, yes -- two reasons together.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, very well.
53
54 MR. MORRIS: I am just trying to understand what the industry
55 norm is -- not catering, I am just talking about industry
56 as a whole -- on the payment of overtime. What is the
57 general ---
58 A. The general pattern -----
59
60 Q. -- accepted view of what the -----
