Day 119 - 02 May 95 - Page 39
1 Q. A reprimand?
2 A. Yes.
3
4 Q. You said you had a policy of providing taxies for young
5 staff members ---
6 A. Who had -----
7
8 Q. -- working late?
9 A. Yes, who had no other means for getting home. I mean,
10 if they had their own transport they used their own
11 transport. If the manager had a car then he would take
12 them round. If there was no other means of getting them
13 home we had regular contracts with taxies, local taxies, to
14 take the youngsters home.
15
16 Q. So that was a policy which every staff member could demand,
17 or was that at the discretion of management?
18 A. No. Anyone finishing after close would be taken home
19 by either -- they would either have their own form of
20 transport, if they chose to do that, or the manager had the
21 responsibility for getting them home. If he did not have a
22 car, or if some other member of staff did not have a car
23 then he would hire a taxi.
24
25 Q. That ensured that you could get people to work the hours,
26 the late hours, that you needed, yes? Otherwise they might
27 say, "I cannot work those hours because I cannot get home"?
28 A. No, that just a means of getting them home.
29
30 Q. No, what I am saying is was that a sensible policy brought
31 in by the company to ensure you had enough staff to do the
32 close?
33 A. No, it ensured the staff got home safely.
34
35 Q. Did that policy benefit the company ----
36 A. It benefited the company in that we were offering
37 safety to our employees.
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It obviously benefited the company. I think
40 you have answered it, but the point being put to you was
41 that it was with a view to recruitment, i.e. making the job
42 more attractive, rather than considerations of safety for
43 the employees?
44 A. I never considered it that way. I do not know of
45 anyone who did. It was done to get staff home safely late
46 at night.
47
48 MR. MORRIS: You said something about -- I cannot remember what
49 it was now -- any matters arising from the payroll
50 analysis charts, the matter would be dealt with by someone
51 from Head Office. Do you remember the 96 hours?
52 A. Yes.
53
54 Q. Computer printouts?
55 A. Yes.
56
57 Q. And the background printouts to those. You said that they
58 go to the Personnel Department and the Operations
59 Department?
60 A. Yes.
