Day 204 - 15 Jan 96 - Page 21


     
     1
     2   Q.   If we go on to page 2 which is 1990, yes, it is September
     3        1990, the following year, the target on page 2, it says,
     4        for your store was 80 for August and you achieved 73; is
     5        that correct?
     6        A.  Yes.
     7
     8   Q.   So the Company still considered you needed 80, is that
     9        correct, for the summer period?
    10        A.  That was not a target set by the Company.  That was a
    11        target set by Mark Davis and myself and John Atherton.
    12        Now, with the running of the store, I appreciate and
    13        I understand that if they thought I could run on 73, I
    14        could run on 73 and that was the case.  I was professional
    15        enough to actually take that decision.
    16
    17   Q.   So if you could get the maximum productivity out of less
    18        staff, that was OK?
    19        A.  The productivity of the staff in Clacton was very good
    20        because they were very good crew members and they were a
    21        very nice bunch of people.
    22
    23   Q.   Because of that, in your view, 60 people could do the work
    24        of 80 people?
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why do you say that?
    27
    28   MR. MORRIS:  Because when he had 60 the previous year and his
    29        target was -----
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He said that he took a manager's decision
    32        that 60 was what he needed and not 80.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  Because of their productivity abilities?
    35        A.  And because of the business.  I mean, I had never
    36        actually been in a position where I had to decide how many
    37        crew members should be on the books at any one time.  So
    38        that 80 probably was a decision between me and Mark.  A lot
    39        of the information that is on paper is probably down to my
    40        naivete at the end of the day.
    41
    42   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where are we going on this?
    43
    44   MR. MORRIS:  I am just trying to say -----
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I thought your case in relation to Colchester
    47        was that targets were set largely by the performance.  Mark
    48        Davis reached good targets because he was fiddling and Ray
    49        Coton had to keep on fiddling to reach the same targets or
    50        targets based on them.  If that is your case, I cannot see 
    51        the point in scouring Clacton. 
    52 
    53   MR. MORRIS:  That last one I referred to on page 2 is signed by
    54        John Atherton and Mark Davis and they still consider,
    55        apparently, that officially you would need more staff.  I
    56        do not know, who knows .....
    57        A.  I think the only person who really knew was me.
    58
    59   Q.   So sometimes the Supervisors really do not know what is
    60        going on in the store?

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