Day 259 - 10 Jun 96 - Page 39


     
     1
     2   Q.   Your company that you were working for had been found out.
     3        That is why it would have bothered you, is it not?
     4        A.  It would have bothered me that improper record perhaps
     5        had led to somebody not being paid correctly at the time.
     6        But I am 100 per cent sure that any discrepancy would have
     7        been put right very, very shortly after it was noticed.  It
     8        was never their intention to underpay anybody for hours
     9        worked.
    10
    11   Q.   It was never, maybe, your intention, but you do not know
    12        what was happening at store level, apart from things that
    13        may have circulated through to you.  The Wages Act came in
    14        in 1986, did it not?
    15        A.  I cannot remember.  I do not know exactly when it came
    16        in.
    17
    18   Q.   You are a consultant to 14 different companies on payroll
    19        matters; you worked at previous places; you were at
    20        McDonald's for six years; and you are giving evidence in
    21        this case; and you do not know when the Wages Act came in?
    22        A.  Not exactly, no, but if you say it is 1986 -----
    23
    24   Q.   It is known as -----
    25
    26   MR. RAMPTON:  If Mr. Morris -----
    27
    28   THE WITNESS:  I do not remember refer to it.  I do not need to.
    29
    30   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You do expect a lot of perfection from a lot
    31        of people.  If she said she does not remember what the date
    32        of the Act is, if you think that that impugns her evidence
    33        you can tell me about it in due course.  It is for me to
    34        judge whether it is because she is ignorant or because
    35        people forget things from time to time.  You do not have to
    36        take it up with the witness.
    37
    38        I do not want you to ask about the construction of an Act
    39        of Parliament or regulations.  That is for me.  If you want
    40        to challenge what Mr. Mills' attitude was, for whatever
    41        that matters, by all means do so with Mrs. Pearce.
    42
    43   MR. MORRIS:  Do you know how many inspectors cover the London
    44        area for wage-related inspections, how many wages
    45        inspectors worked from the Wages Inspectorate office in the
    46        London area, approximately?
    47        A.  I have no idea.  We only ever dealt with Mr. Mills.
    48        I have no idea how many others were there.
    49
    50   Q.   I think we heard evidence from Mr. Pearson, who is on the 
    51        Wage Council, something like 75.  Do you know how many 
    52        companies would be affected at that time by inspections? 
    53        A.  I have no idea.  It was of no interest to me.
    54
    55   Q.   Would you accept hundreds of thousands?
    56        A.  I would have thought -----
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, Mr. Morris.
    59
    60   THE WITNESS:  I do not know.

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