Day 174 - 17 Oct 95 - Page 47
1 Q. You did not?
2 A. No.
3
4 MR. MORRIS: So, effectively, you are responsible for them
5 remaining dismissed, through your neglect to take action to
6 invite them back?
7 A. Well, no, I do not see it that way. They were
8 dismissed for -- I think in the case of Mr. McCann, he was
9 dismissed for particular reasons. You are suggesting that
10 I instigated the dismissal?
11
12 Q. I am suggesting that you neglected to fulfil your
13 responsibility, having recognised that the correct
14 procedures had not been followed, that in fact he should
15 have maybe been given a verbal warning that would have
16 remained on his record; instead, he was dismissed, and yet
17 you did not take any action to ensure that he was
18 reinstated?
19 A. But I think you are asking me if I am aware that the
20 correct procedure was not followed. I am not aware.
21
22 Q. You said that you would have warned the manager for not
23 following the correct procedure, but you did not take any
24 action to ensure the reinstatement of the employee?
25
26 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I do not think it has ever been put
27 directly to the witness that the correct procedure was not
28 followed. It was put to him what the correct procedure
29 would have been. Whether it is the same as it is today,
30 what was never actually put to Mr. McCann was not, for
31 example, given three verbal warnings at least and a written
32 one.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What -----
35
36 MR. RAMPTON: It is an assumption.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What Mr. Mehigan has said is that he spoke to
39 Mr. Trimble. He said that Mr. Trimble referred the cases
40 to him through the supervisor -- this is before he had
41 actually got to look at the letters. He said that he was
42 not aware that he, Mr. Trimble, had not followed the
43 warning letter procedures. He then did say, what
44 I understood he said: "The manager ignored the first
45 communication and did not refer to me or his superior" --
46 this is just my note of the effect of it -- and then a
47 little later, he said: "I am sure Mr. Trimble would have
48 received a warning"; and I understood that to mean in
49 relation to not telling him when the first letter arrived.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. That is quite different. I agree with
52 that. It is my recollection, too.
53
54 MS. STEEL: It may have been. OK.
55
56 (To the witness) I cannot remember, I may have asked this
57 already. Did you actually investigate into whether or not
58 the correct procedures had been followed and written
59 warnings, verbal written -- sorry -- verbal warnings had
60 been given, followed by a written warning, before the
