Day 214 - 01 02 96 - Page 40

 
 

                                                                  DAY 214
 
                                           DAVID ROBERTS, Cross-examined:
 
 
 
     1   MS. STEEL:  Yes.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do we have figures for the turnover or
     4        anything of that?  We do not.
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:  Do you know actually what the labour costs were in
     7        pounds terms?
     8        A.  No.
     9
    10   Q.   You do not.
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  Sorry, do you mean money turnover?
    13
    14   MS. STEEL:   Did you have a greater percentage of part-timers
    15        than John Nevison?
    16        A.  I have not got the figures for John Nevison.  I was not
    17        in the store when John Nevison was there so, obviously,
    18        I would not know what he did.
    19
    20   Q.   So you do not know what the situation was in the store
    21        then?
    22        A.  All I know is when I went in there what I saw.
    23
    24   MR. MORRIS:  You cannot compare your staffing levels with John
    25        Nevison because you do not know the details of what -----
    26        A.  No, I could not give a specific -- I never worked out
    27        percentages and figures for something that had happened
    28        earlier.  I can see what it is physically -- what is there
    29        at the time when I take over, but it was not really of
    30        interest to me to work out how many part-timers or
    31        full-timers he had three months earlier.
    32
    33   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Might I make a suggestion?  It is fair enough
    34        of you to suggest that Mr. Nevison is being attacked in
    35        anticipation that Mr. Rampton might make the point that any
    36        trouble under-18s working past 12.00 and so on is down to
    37        one Floor Manager, so I anticipate that.  But Mr. Roberts
    38        has no experience of Mr. Nevison there.  I have just looked
    39        through his statement and I do not actually see, though
    40        I may have missed it, any criticism of Mr. Nevison.
    41
    42   MR. MORRIS:  Page 2 about the seventh line down:  "In my view,
    43        the store had clearly been suffering from poor management
    44        from the predecessor John Nevison".
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Fair enough, that may be so, but it does not
    47        say John Nevison rather than anyone else has come before.
    48        You have certain evidence from the witnesses who have been
    49        called about a problem with under-18s which predates John
    50        Nevison. 
    51 
    52   MR. MORRIS:  Yes. 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:   Yes.
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think you have done quite enough to attempt
    57        to put any record straight with regard to John Nevison who
    58        is not, in any event, a member of your team.  I thought
    59        your case in relation to this is that if you get a lot of
    60        under-18s in the system, there is a tendency for some of
 
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