Day 122 - 05 May 95 - Page 21

     
     1
     2   Q.   Or even an Assistant Manager being present?
     3        A.  Yes, there are Floor Managers who are accredited with
     4        the ability to run a shift.
     5
     6   Q.   Right.
     7        A.  They have to have been through certain courses.  Once
     8        they have done that they are accredited with the ability to
     9        run a shift.  Generally that is where we promote from  ---
    10
    11   Q.   Crew -----?
    12        A. --  from those managers.  In other words, at one time
    13        you could you not become a trainee manager until you are 21
    14        years of age.  The Floor Manager gave us the ability to
    15        hold people at 18, 19, 20, until they reached that age.  We
    16        have now introduced the Junior Business Manager.  That was
    17        the idea, to hold people, until they could progress to
    18        staff, to salaried management.
    19
    20   Q.   But Floor Managers do not have to have done the kind of
         courses that people with higher grades have done?
    22        A.  There is a Floor Managers's course, which is fairly
    23        similar to the basic Operations course.  They have
    24        sufficient knowledge to run a shift.
    25
    26   Q.   They do not get as much pay, do they, as someone who is
    27        Assistant Manager or Trainee Manager or Manager?  That is a
    28        fact, is it not?
    29        A.  I would expect that to be so.  I have never really sat
    30        down and worked it out.
    31
    32   Q.   Each grade, as it gets higher, gets more money that the
    33        grade below?
    34        A.  Sometimes in businesses you find that the starting wage
    35        of next rank is not as high as the highest capable earnings
    36        of the rank below.  That is quite common,  dovetailing
    37        salaries.  I am not sure whether I can say in honesty that
    38        no Floor Manager, there is not a Floor Manager who earns
    39        more on his hourly rate -----
    40
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can we put it like this:  by and large,
    42        Assistant Managers would earn more?
    43        A.  Assistant Managers, I am talking about trainees.
    44
    45   Q.   There may be anomalies?
    46        A.  Yes.
    47
    48   MR. MORRIS:  So if the company can have people in lower grades,
    49        in positions of responsibility in a store, taking on
    50        management functions, without a higher store manager being 
    51        presents, that saves the company money, does not it? 
    52        A.  No, you are looking at it backwards.  We are preparing 
    53        people for higher management.
    54
    55   Q.   But they are not getting the pay that higher management
    56        would be getting?
    57        A.  Because they are still being developed.
    58
    59   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think really you have to put to him he does
    60        it on purpose to save money.  In fact Mr. Nicholson has