Day 207 - 23 Jan 96 - Page 10
1 minutes, five hours -----
2
3 Q. Five hours.
4 A. Five hours of break time, I think it is 45 minutes, and
5 if they work in excess of 10 hours it is five minutes plus,
6 and over 20 minutes as well. That is my recollection.
7
8 Q. What about when breaks should be scheduled?
9 A. The scheduling of breaks is not actually done as such
10 formally within the scheduling. You would not put a
11 specific time on to the schedule document.
12
13 Q. When would breaks be taken then?
14 A. It would be down to the -- it would be down to the
15 Manager running the shift and the discussion with the crew
16 members when they took their breaks. If a crew member
17 wished to go at a particular time for a particular reason,
18 the Manager would not obstruct that.
19
20 Q. Whose job is it to monitor when breaks are taken afterwards
21 at the end of the day or whatever? Is that the scheduling
22 Manager's job or any shift Manager's job, or what?
23 A. I would say it was to ensure that the crew member had a
24 break or correct break would be down to the Manager on the
25 -- running the shift.
26
27 Q. What I am saying is, who monitors the situation? You are a
28 First Assistant Manager, would you generally check up to
29 make sure that people were getting breaks they are entitled
30 to, which is a legal requirement?
31 A. I would ensure that the crew, as I was running the
32 shift, had had their breaks, yes.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: But I think what is being put to you is
35 this: if you are working in a factory where all work can
36 stop from 10.45 to 11.00 while everyone has a 15 minute
37 break; the hooter goes, everyone knocks off and the hooter
38 goes, everyone starts again. But, in a system like
39 McDonald's where breaks are being allowed one person at a
40 time, or two people, as they can be allowed, what is there
41 which prompts you to say so and so is entitled to a 15
42 minute break during this period of time?
43 A. As I say, the individual Manager who is running the
44 shift would have responsibility for ensuring that the
45 breaks of the crew member are carried out, and then he may
46 have an individual Manager who may run the front area of
47 the, be it the till area, and a Manager of the kitchen
48 area, who would then draw up a list of when the crew member
49 started or have knowledge of when the crew member started
50 and their appropriate length of break.
51
52 MR. MORRIS: You are generally in charge of the schedule, do you
53 ever check -- you must check -- the clock cards each week
54 to see that, you know, your system is working, or do you
55 leave it to chance?
56 A. I do not go back and review the clock card files.
57
58 Q. You never look at clock cards, even for your own shifts?
59 A. I review the clock card file prior to shutting the
60 system or something if I was on a night shift.
