Day 150 - 07 Jul 95 - Page 16
1 A. As opposed to the London rate, yes.
2
3 Q. As opposed to Inner or Outer London?
4 A. That is correct, yes.
5
6 Q. For example, at Leicester when you were Store Manager or
7 at, say, Colchester, what percentage of the store, roughly
8 speaking, at any one time were on the starting rate?
9 A. Well, given the fact that they would have received a
10 pay review within four months of starting, then I would
11 have thought somewhere in the region of about 10 per cent.
12 10 per cent, that probably sounds about right, on a payroll
13 of 100, maybe 10 or so, yes.
14
15 Q. We will stick with Colchester as an example. Was the
16 starting rate, to your knowledge, reviewed from time to
17 time?
18 A. It would be reviewed annually, certainly.
19
20 Q. I mean -- sorry, that is a bad question on my part. There
21 is the general annual review?
22 A. Yes.
23
24 Q. At Company top level?
25 A. Right.
26
27 Q. But, in relation to each crew member at Colchester, was a
28 performance review done in relation to them to determine
29 any pay increase?
30 A. Yes. We have changed it now but, if I recall, at that
31 stage we held the review every two months and then,
32 basically, every other review, so every four months that
33 review would be a pay review. Again, one of my
34 responsibilities as a Supervisor was to ensure that the
35 reviews were, I suppose, firstly, carried out and,
36 secondly, the quality, in this case the written quality,
37 obviously, was of a standard that looked like it had taken
38 people time and thought had gone into it. Then we would
39 also have something that was called a "raise chart" that
40 I could then have a look at to monitor the reviews that
41 went on in the system.
42
43 Q. It was related to performance, was it?
44 A. Yes, absolutely. That was to sort of make sure that
45 the comments that were made on those reviews or, I should
46 say, the pay rewards were backed up by those comments. So,
47 if somebody got an excellent pay award that was reflected
48 in the comments and obviously vice versa.
49
50 Q. So, I mean, if it were to be said to you, well, the people
51 who got the pay increases, and I assume that in your time
52 you are saying there were these pay increases awarded,
53 generally speaking, that the system actually worked in
54 practice?
55 A. It did and it does, absolutely.
56
57 Q. So, assuming that to be the case, if someone were to say to
58 you: "Well, the ones who got the pay increases were the
59 toadies and the creepers and the ones who did what they
60 were told, whether they did the work well or they did not
