Day 116 - 26 Apr 95 - Page 28
1 Q. -- about crew turnover figures ---
2 A. Yes.
3
4 Q. -- and the reasons for them, so I will, if I may, leave
5 that to her. I would like to invite your attention to one
6 feature. It may be a feature of that topic. Have you got
7 your volume XI there still? We can stay with this ----
8
9 MR. MORRIS: Is volume XII finished with for the moment?
10
11 MR. RAMPTON: Yes, it is. (To the witness): Turn back to that
12 Crew Handbook for 1989, please, which is tab 3.
13 A. Yes.
14
15 Q. And to page 116 ---
16 A. Yes.
17
18 Q. -- which is headed, I hope: "Working Hours", yes?
19 A. Yes.
20
21 Q. You notice at the bottom -- this is in the days of, well,
22 I do not know whether it changed on introduction of the
23 swipe card, but it refers to clock cards -- working hours,
24 it says: "Flexibility: One of your many benefits at
25 McDonald's is flexibility in work schedules. At the time
26 you are hired, you should set up a work schedule that fits
27 in with your college, family, or outside activity demands.
28 When this schedule needs to be changed, let your Manager
29 know at least one week in advance, so that your request
30 would be honoured whenever possible. Simply record it in
31 the Request Book. Management has the right to change
32 schedules".
33
34 That is all very fine, Mr. Nicholson, as a statement of
35 principle and it speaks for itself. The question I want to
36 ask you is, does it work in practice?
37 A. Fairly well. Fairly well.
38
39 Q. The whole system, I meant, the system of ---
40 A. Yes.
41
42 Q. -- flexible hours?
43 A. Yes, flexible hours. Flexible hours works extremely
44 well. Generally, Managers do manage to accommodate the
45 requests of the hourly paid workers.
46
47 Q. So, if I suddenly said after my schedule had been set for
48 the next week: "I want to go to the doctor" or "It is my
49 aunt's birthday" or something like that, could I reasonably
50 expect that you would accommodate my request?
51 A. Something like: "I want to go and see the doctor",
52 almost certainly. Whether or not they would be so
53 accommodating for your aunt's birthday begs the question.
54
55 Q. How much discretion is allowed to the Managers of the
56 stores in these matters?
57 A. Quite a considerable amount of discretion.
58
59 Q. If an employee got fed up with a particular Manager,
60 thought that for one reason or another he or she was being
