Day 120 - 03 May 95 - Page 53


     
     1        A.  No.
     2
     3   Q.   -- from 15.06 to 14 -----
     4        A.  No, you are without a very vital detail there, that is
     5        top line sales.
     6
     7   Q.   No, I mean in terms of labour percentages ---
     8        A.  They were percentages -----
     9
    10   Q.   -- the plan would reduce the percentage?
    11        A.  No.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why do you say that?
    14
    15   MR. MORRIS:  Because the plan, the last year's percentage of
    16        labour costs was 15.06.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Put it to him.
    19
    20   MR. MORRIS:  The plan that year was to reduce that to 14.8,
    21        although what was actually achieved was 15.1.  So, the
    22        plan, in fact, was to reduce labour costs as a percentage
    23        of sales down to 14.8, is it not?  That was the plan?
    24
    25   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That seems to me on the figures we have here
    26        to be perfectly sensible, because if you look at the gross
    27        pay, if you look at the pay role crew, it was obviously
    28        expected that it was going to increase by about 15 per
    29        cent, that is, 81 over 7,000 ---
    30        A.  That is right, my Lord.
    31
    32   Q.   -- about 14 per cent, I suppose it is.  You were actually
    33        going to expect to pay 14 per cent more, but the percentage
    34        of turnover was expected to go down.  I can only think that
    35        was because you hoped sales would go up considerably which,
    36        quite apart from anything else, would be likely to reduce
    37        the payroll percentage because, as we have seen and it is
    38        only common sense, that is likely to go down as income goes
    39        up on percentage terms.  In fact, you ended up paying
    40        something like 7 million more than the year before?
    41        A.  That is correct.
    42
    43   Q.   But 4 million less than you expected to pay.
    44        A.  Yes.
    45
    46   Q.   I assume that meant that you did not turnover as much as
    47        the plan was and so, in fact, you ended up with as near as
    48        makes no difference the same percentage as the year before?
    49        A.  That is exactly right, my Lord.
    50 
    51   Q.   The wages bill had gone up, the turnover had gone up, but 
    52        the turnover had not gone up as much as you had --- 
    53        A.  We anticipated.
    54
    55   Q.   -- planned it to go up.  So, instead of the percentage
    56        dropping it had stayed about the same?
    57        A.  About the same; that is exactly right, my Lord.
    58
    59   MR. MORRIS:  So, the reality is when you have set your target
    60        figures and guidelines, and all the other matters which we

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