Day 181 - 01 Nov 95 - Page 28


     
     1        which is not to do with the question.
     2        A.  I beg your pardon.
     3
     4   Q.   Try to follow that, Mr. Pearson.
     5
     6   MR. RAMPTON:  Mr. Pearson, if it be right that the probability
     7        is, the overwhelming probability is, that most of the
     8        overtime in the sense in which I have proposed it, that is
     9        to say, more than 39 hours a week is and always has been
    10        done by a minority of full-timers, would you also accept,
    11        as a matter of common sense, that they are the people who
    12        are likely to have had a number of performance related pay
    13        rises and who have been with the Company for, at any rate,
    14        a period of months, if not years?
    15
    16   MS. STEEL:   I do not see how the witness can possibly answer
    17        that.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Please let him answer.  Mr. Pearson is
    20        managing to answer perfectly well.
    21
    22   MS. STEEL:  It is completely hypothetical.
    23
    24   THE WITNESS:  This table does not show length of service.
    25
    26   MR. RAMPTON:  No, you can look at length of service over the
    27        page, if you want to, over the next page.  I agree the two
    28        are not married up.  There is no reconciliation between
    29        them, that I will accept.
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think you had better put your question
    32        again and Mr. Pearson can tell me whether he accepts it or
    33        not.
    34
    35   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes, I will.  (To the witness):  Would you agree
    36        that it is probable -- if you do not know and say you are
    37        not willing to hazard a guess on anything, Mr. Pearson,
    38        please say so -- that the full-timers who are doing most of
    39        the overtime are likely to be people with a number of
    40        performance related pay increases under their belt?
    41        A.  I must say, I do not see how anyone in my position in
    42        this witness box is able to answer that question because
    43        neither of these tables is an assessment of the merit
    44        reward system.  I mean, I do not know whether such data is
    45        available, but the merit system itself is service related
    46        and, as a trigger point of four months service after 21
    47        days and then four monthly reviews.
    48
    49        So, it is obviously possible that in the table we are now
    50        looking at showing length of service that employees in the, 
    51        say, three to six month category and then the 12 to 24 
    52        months category, some of those, of course, could be 
    53        receiving more than the basic, but this table does not show
    54        anything about that.
    55
    56   Q.   No, I quite agree with that, Mr. Pearson.  Can I put
    57        another hypothetical question to you, please?  Assume that
    58        it be proved by evidence to the satisfaction of his
    59        Lordship that what I put to you a moment ago is right, that
    60        the full-timers, the majority of the full-timers, who do

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