Day 150 - 07 Jul 95 - Page 31
1 A. Right.
2
3 Q. Now again, just so that I am not completely on the wrong
4 track -- it is not you that I am worried about, it is me --
5 can you just explain your understanding of what an all
6 night close is?
7 A. Generally, we would have people come in probably about
8 midnight and work through till about 6 o'clock, and the
9 responsibility, if you like, or duties for an all night
10 close would generally be those of a detailed cleanliness
11 project; a general sort of spring clean.
12
13 Q. Was it something that people liked having to do? When
14 I say "having to do", liked doing rather?
15 A. Well, the way we used to have the system in practice
16 was that we would have people specifically come in at
17 12 o'clock. So, to all intents and purposes, it was a 12
18 o'clock midnight to 6 o'clock a.m. shift. So it was
19 another shift, so to speak, rather than any extra hours
20 working through.
21
22 Q. Is that what the premium rate applies to?
23 A. It would be paid the premium rate from midnight to
24 6 o'clock.
25
26 Q. Did the crew members have to work an all night close,
27 whether from time to time or regularly?
28 A. No.
29
30 Q. If they did not want to, were they forced to?
31 A. No, because once again if they are not -- if they were
32 not willing to do it, then I would end up, I suppose, with
33 somebody working through who does not want to do the job
34 and it would make no sense them being there. They would
35 not be productive.
36
37 Q. I will give you an example by way of comparison. When one
38 is a GP and you have a collective practice, three or four
39 people in it, and it comes to the question of who is going
40 to do the night shift of going out to people, I think a
41 lot, and it is fair to say, a lot of doctors would prefer
42 not to be doing that, if one goes by newspapers and by
43 friends who are doctors?
44 A. Sure.
45
46 Q. Another example, from my own experience, is when one is
47 reading newspapers to see whether they contain anything
48 that is against the law before they go out for
49 publication. There is a time when somebody has to do an
50 unsocial shift or you get woken up at two in the morning by
51 the Daily Mail, or whatever. People do not generally like
52 that, but everybody is expected, as part of the team, to do
53 it from time to time?
54 A. Right.
55
56 Q. Whether they like it or not that is what they are expected
57 to do. Is that the position at McDonald's in relation to
58 the all night close?
59 A. No. No one is expected to do an all night close. That
60 is why what would generally happen is that the Manager will
