Day 119 - 02 May 95 - Page 59
1 It may be when Mrs. Mead comes that you will be able to
2 find more about that, and you will be able to lay your
3 ground for a claim that they are admissible. At the
4 moment, they seem to me to be no more than another way of
5 saying what people have said about their reasons for
6 leaving which appears to me at the moment, without having
7 heard full argument on it, to fall foul of the hearsay
8 rule.
9
10 MR. MORRIS: With respect, I do not think it does in terms of it
11 not being a relevant document, because -----
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It cannot be relevant if its contents are
14 inadmissible.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: Not if their Company believes that the information
17 is relevant to its understanding of the situation and
18 compiles it. What conclusion we draw, we cannot see until
19 we see the document. If it helps the court, the Operations
20 Manual, which is a binding document on all McDonald's
21 branches and stores, on page internal 87 of that file there
22 is, in fact, causes of turnover -----
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause. Give me the reference to it.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: It is Operations and Training Manual. There is a
27 specific file that is called the Operations and Training
28 Manual.
29
30 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
31
32 MR. MORRIS: Pink X, we think it might be, it is the thin one.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What do you want to refer me to there?
35
36 MR. MORRIS: On page 87, under "Retention of Crew", "Staffing
37 and retention are closely related issues. Many problems
38 are the by-products of under-staffing. Under-staffing puts
39 additional pressure on everyone and results in frustration
40 for management and crew. Causes of turnover: It is
41 crucial to understand the reasons why" -----
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause there because, you see, if
44 I recall Ms. Mead's statement, she gives some reasons that
45 she will not only explain to us how turnover is calculated,
46 she gives reasons why she would suggest -- at the moment it
47 looks as if the Second Plaintiff is going to call her --
48 turnover, which might appear to be high, has a perfectly
49 innocent explanation. It is to do with people who come and
50 work while they are students, or who have found a window in
51 their domestic duties which enables them to come and work
52 for a while, and so on. When they leave because that
53 window has been shut or they have to go back to their
54 studies, that is counted as leaving, that sort of thing.
55
56 You are going to, I assume, challenge that and say: "No,
57 part of it is because they are dissatisfied with their
58 working conditions at McDonald's". It may very well be
59 that whether any document which has been prepared which
60 purports to portray the reasons given for leaving is
