Day 259 - 10 Jun 96 - Page 45


     
     1
     2   Q.   Your job was to ensure that people got the correct money?
     3        A.  And I could only do that, assuming that the hours that
     4        were sent through to me were the hours that have been
     5        worked.  I had no other way, apart from if I visited all
     6        the stores and -----
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think you have a complete misperception of
     9        what Mrs. Pearce's function was.  You have asked a lot of
    10        questions of witnesses who did feel entitled to answer on
    11        this point.
    12
    13        (To the witness)  As far as I understand it, all you had to
    14        make sure was that if their hourly rate was X and they had
    15        worked so many hours, they were paid X times so many hours,
    16        and that the appropriate deductions for tax and National
    17        Insurance were dealt with?
    18        A.  That is correct.
    19
    20   Q.   Indeed, this was checked when complaints came to you.  But
    21        was it your job to scour over so many samples to see if the
    22        right amounts were being paid, the calculation was done
    23        correctly; did you check some calculations?
    24        A.  Of course.  That was my job.  But it was not my -----
    25
    26   Q.   It was not your job to check whether the McDonald's method
    27        was lawful or not?
    28        A.  No.
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:  Bearing in mind the policy -- and we have heard it
    31        from others -- do you remember Joanna Blackette?
    32        A.  No, I do not.
    33
    34   Q.   I think she was field personnel officer, or something.  She
    35        said there was a policy of people not working over
    36        39 hours.  Do you remember seeing any substantial numbers
    37        of people in the company working over 39 hours, or was it
    38        generally everybody worked less than 39 hours, from what
    39        you remember?
    40        A.  Again, it is not something that I would have
    41        investigated.  It is not something I would have looked at.
    42        I was there -----
    43
    44   Q.   You said that you had to make sure that people got paid?
    45        A.  We had hundreds of crew members.  Some worked very
    46        little hours and some worked more.  I was actually more
    47        responsible for the management payroll at the time, where
    48        people were salaried.  So, no, I did not look at specific
    49        hours.  It would not have been my job to check that.
    50 
    51   Q.   Mr. Mills, was he checking salaries or crew? 
    52        A.  He checked both. 
    53
    54   Q.   When he asked you about crew, you said, basically, "That is
    55        not my area"?
    56        A.  No, I did not.
    57
    58   Q.   "I do not really know about that"?
    59        A.  No, I did not.  The records were in my department.  One
    60        of my staff would have been called to bring all the

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