Day 121 - 04 May 95 - Page 14


     
     1        stated above, staff were expected to work all night on
     2        perhaps once every two months".   He emphasises that that
     3        will be for senior management rather than area supervisor
     4        visits.  I just point that out because it relates to the
     5        one which we asked you before.
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why not ask about that, whether Mr. Nicholson
     8        would be concerned if it happened, not often in the sense
     9        that it is once every two months rather than once a
    10        fortnight, but it would amount to several times a year and
    11        might be thought to be happening regularly in the sense of
    12        whenever one of the top brass comes down.
    13        (To the witness):  What would you think about that?  Is
    14        that a satisfactory way of carrying on or not?
    15        A.  I would be very disappointed if anybody asked staff to
    16        work overnight because I was going.  On an announced visit,
    17        perhaps, by Paul Preston or by Andrew Taylor, I think it
    18        might be reasonable, on an announced visit, for a manager,
    19        perhaps, to ask a member of staff to clean the store
    20        overnight.
    21
    22   Q.   I appreciate that, but if it were once every two months, if
    23        it was happening about once every two months -- of course,
    24        Mr. Preston is not going to the same store every two
    25        months?
    26        A.  No, I would have thought that was a misuse of labour,
    27        quite honestly.  I mean, there are some stores that
    28        regularly have people working every night.  They are hired
    29        as "night closers".  But, apart from that, I would have
    30        thought that was a misuse of staff.  You can clean a store,
    31        an average store, an average volume store, in two or three
    32        hours.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  What is the Company's policy on double shift
    35        working, someone doing two shifts in a row, two full
    36        shifts?  Presumably, we are talking about eight hour
    37        shifts?
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let us establish, are the shifts normally
    40        eight hours for full-time workers?
    41        A.  Yes.  The average shift would be, I would say, now that
    42        we have a complete breakfast programme, 7.00 until 3.00.
    43        There would be a middle shift to cover the very busy hours,
    44        and then the last shift would be, it is generally, 3.00 or
    45        4.00 to close.  4.00 until close is the normal, what we
    46        would call a night shift.
    47
    48   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  So there are about eight hours?
    49        A.  They are about eight hours for the full -----
    50 
    51   Q.   -- including the breaks? 
    52        A.  Including the breaks. 
    53
    54   MR. MORRIS:  So, what is the Company policy in terms of
    55        protection for crew members from working long hours or
    56        continuous hours?  What is the Company policy about double
    57        shift working?  Is it encouraged, discouraged or is there a
    58        policy against it?
    59        A.  I do not think there is any policy about -- I have
    60        never heard of double shift work.  I am not going to say it

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