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TH DECEMBER 1945

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - LONG TITLE

ower of Ministry to establish wages councils. A> 1. (1) Subject to
the provisions of this Part of this Act, the Ministry of Labour{2}
(in this Act referred to as ""the Ministry'') may by order
establish a wages council to perform, in relation to the workers
described in the order and their employers, the functions specified
in the subsequent provisions of this Act. B>(2) An order
establishing a wages council (hereafter in this Act referred to as
a ""wages council order'') may be made by the Ministry either C
>>( a ) if it is of opinion that no adequate machinery exists for
the effective regulation of the remuneration of the workers described
in the order and that, having regard to the remuneration existing
amongst those workers, or any of them, it is expedient that such a
council should be established; or C >>( b ) in the circumstances
hereafter in this Act specified, in pursuance of a wages council
recommendation made in accordance with the subsequent provisions of
this Part of this Act. >Applications for wages council orders and
reference to the Agency. A> 2. (1) An application for the
establishment of a wages council with respect to any workers and
their employers may be made to the Ministry either C >>( a ) by
a joint industrial council, conciliation board or other similar body
constituted by organisations representative respectively of those
workers and their employers; or C >>( b ) jointly by any
organisation of workers and any organisation of employers which claim
to be organisations that habitually take part in the settlement of
remuneration and conditions of employment for those workers; Bon the
ground, in either case, that the existing machinery for the
settlement of remuneration and conditions of employment for those
workers is likely to cease to exist or be adequate for that
purpose. B>(2) Subject to the provisions of this and the next
succeeding sub-section, where such an application as aforesaid is
made to the Ministry, the Ministry shall C >>( a ) if it is
satisfied, in the case of an application under paragraph ( b) of
the preceding sub-section, that the claim of the organisations
habitually to take part in the settlement of remuneration and
conditions of employment for those workers is well-founded and, in
any case, that there are sufficient grounds to justify the reference
of the application to [{3}the Agency], refer the application to
[{3}the Agency] to inquire into and report on the application; or C
>>( b ) if it is not so satisfied, notify the applicants to that
effect, in which case no further steps shall be taken on the
application unless and until the Ministry is so satisfied by fresh
facts brought to its notice: B>Provided that before taking either of
the said courses, the Ministry may require the applicants to furnish
such information, if any, in relation to the application as it
considers necessary. B>(3) If, on considering an application under
sub-section (1) of this section, it appears to the Ministry either
C >>( a ) that there is a joint industrial council, conciliation
board or other similar body constituted by organisations of workers
and organisations of employers, being a council, board or body which
would or might be affected by the establishment of a wages council
in pursuance of the application; or C >>( b ) that there are
organisations of workers and organisations of employers representative
respectively of workers other than workers to whom the application
relates and their employers, who would or might be affected by the
establishment of a wages council as aforesaid; Bbeing a council,
board or body, or, as the case may be, organisations, which are
parties to joint voluntary machinery for the settlement of
remuneration and conditions of employment but are not parties to the
application for a wages council, the Ministry before deciding to
refer the application to [{3}the Agency], shall give notice of the
application to that council, board or body or, as the case may be,
to those organisations, and shall consider any observations in
writing which may be submitted to the Ministry by them within such
period as it may direct, not being less than one month from the
date of the notice, and the Ministry, if it decides to refer the
application to [{3}the Agency], shall transmit a copy of the
observations to [{3}the Agency]. B>(4) If, before an application is
referred to [{3}the Agency], it is withdrawn by the applicants, no
further proceedings shall be had thereon. >References to the Agency
without application for wages council order. A> 3. Without prejudice
to the provisions of the last preceding section, the Ministry, if
it considers that no adequate machinery exists for the effective
regulation of the remuneration of any workers or that the existing
machinery is likely to cease to exist or be adequate for that
purpose and a reasonable standard of remuneration amongst those
workers will not be maintained, may, without any such application as
is mentioned in that section, refer to [{3}the Agency] the question
whether a wages council should be established with respect to any
of those workers and their employers. >Proceedings on references to
the Agency. A> 4. (1) Where the Ministry makes a reference to
[{3}the Agency] under either of the two last preceding sections, it
shall be the duty of [{3}the Agency] to consider not only the
subject matter of the reference but also any other question or
matter which, in the opinion of [{3}the Agency], is relevant
thereto, and in particular to consider whether there are any other
workers (being workers who, in the opinion of [{3}the Agency], are
engaged in work which is complementary, subsidiary or closely allied
to the work performed by the workers specified in the reference or
any of them) whose position should be dealt with together with that
of the workers, or some of the workers, specified as aforesaid;
and, in relation to any such reference to [{3}the Agency], any
reference in this Part of this Act to the workers with whom
[{3}the Agency] is concerned shall be construed as a reference to
the workers specified as aforesaid and any such other workers as
aforesaid. B>(2) If [{3}the Agency] is of opinion with respect to
the workers with whom it is concerned or any of those workers
whose position should, in the opinion of [{3}the Agency], be
separately dealt with C >>( a ) that there exists machinery set up
by agreement between organisations representing workers and employers
respectively which is, or which can, by improvements which it is
practicable to secure, be made, adequate for regulating the
remuneration and conditions of employment of those workers; and C
>>( b ) that there is no reason to believe that that machinery is
likely to cease to exist or be adequate for that purpose; B[{3}the
Agency] shall report to the Ministry accordingly and may include in
its report any suggestions which it may think fit to make as to
the improvement of that machinery. B>(3) Where any such suggestions
are so included, the Ministry shall take such steps as appear to
it to be expedient and practicable to secure the improvements in
question. B>(4) If [{3}the Agency] is of opinion with respect to
the workers with whom it is concerned or any of those workers
whose position should, in the opinion of [{3}the Agency], be
separately dealt with C >>( a ) that machinery for regulating the
remuneration and conditions of employment of those workers is not,
and cannot, by any improvements which it is practicable to secure,
be made adequate for that purpose, or does not exist; or C >>( b
) that the existing machinery is likely to cease to exist or be
adequate for that purpose; Band that as a result a reasonable
standard of remuneration amongst those workers is not being or will
not be maintained, [{3}the Agency] may make a report to the
Ministry embodying a recommendation (in this Act referred to as a
""wages council recommendation'') for the establishment of a wages
council in respect of those workers and their employers. B>(5) Where
the Ministry receives a wages council rec
[{3}the Agency] shall consider not only what matters are capable of
being dealt with by that machinery, but also to what extent those
matters are covered by the agreements or awards arrived at or given
thereunder, and to what extent the practice is, or is likely to
be, in accordance with those agreements or awards. >Making of wages
council orders. A> 5. (1) Before making a wages council order,
whether in pursuance of a wages council recommendation or not, the
Ministry shall publish, in the prescribed manner, notice of its
intention to make the order, specifying a place where copies of a
draft thereof may be obtained and the time, which shall not be
less than twenty-one days from the date of the publication, within
which any objection made with respect to the draft order must be
sent to the Ministry. B>(2) Every objection so made must be in
writing and must state C >>( a ) the specific grounds of
objection; and C >>( b ) the omissions, additions or modifications
asked for; Band the Ministry shall consider any such objection made
by or on behalf of any person appearing to it to be affected,
being an objection sent to the Ministry within the time specified
in the notice, but shall not be bound to consider any other
objection. B>(3) If there are no objections which the Ministry is
required by the last preceding sub-section to consider or if, after
considering all such objections, the Ministry is of opinion that all
those objections either C >>( a ) in the case of an order to be
made in pursuance of a wages council recommendation, were made to
[{3}the Agency]
which made the recommendation and were expressly dealt with in the
report embodying that recommendation; or

(b)in any case, will be met by modifications which the Ministry
proposes to make under this sub-section or are frivolous;

(4) Where the Ministry does not proceed under the last preceding
sub-section it may, if it thinks fit, either

(a)amend the draft order, in which case all the provisions of this
section shall have effect in relation to the amended draft order as
they have effect in relation to an original draft order; or

(b)refer the draft order to [the Agency] for inquiry and report, in
which case the Ministry shall consider the report of [the Agency]
and may then, if it thinks fit, make an order either in the terms
of the draft or with such modifications as it thinks fit.

(5) Where the Ministry makes a wages council order, it shall
publish it in the prescribed manner, together with the report of
[the Agency] relating to the order, and the order shall come into
operation on the date on which it is so published or on such
later date as is specified in the order.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 6
Variation and revocation of wages council orders.

6.(1) The Ministry may at any time by order abolish, or vary the
field of operation of, a wages council, and the provisions of the
last preceding section shall apply in relation to any such order as
they apply in relation to wages council orders:

Provided that

(a)where any of the wages councils affected by the order is one of
the councils in relation to which a central co-ordinating committee
has been established under the subsequent provisions of this Part of
this Act, the Ministry, before making the order, shall consult that
committee and take into consideration any observations which that
committee may make to the Ministry within fourteen days from the
date on which the Ministry first consults it;

(b)where the order directs that a wages council shall cease to
operate in relation to any workers and that another wages council
shall operate in relation to them, but, save as aforesaid, does not
affect the field of operation of any wages council

(i)the provisions of the last preceding section shall not apply; but

(ii)before making the order, the Ministry shall consult the councils
concerned; and

<(iii)when the order is made the Ministry shall publish it in the prescribed manner and it shall come into operation on the date on which it is so published or on such later date as is specified in the order.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of the
preceding sub-section, an application for the abolition of a wages
council may be made to the Ministry jointly by organisations of
workers and organisations of employers which represent respectively
substantial proportions of the workers and employers with respect to
whom that council operates, on the ground that [the existence of a
wages council is no longer necessary for the purpose of maintaining
a reasonable standard of remuneration for the workers with respect
to whom that wages council operates], and where such an application
is made, the Ministry shall either make an order giving effect to
the application or refer the application to [the Agency] to inquire
into and report thereon; and where an application is so referred to
[the Agency], the last preceding section shall, in relation to an
order made in pursuance of a recommendation of [the Agency], have
effect as if any reference in that section to a wages council
recommendation included a reference to the recommendation aforesaid.

(3) Where an order of the Ministry directs that a wages council
shall cease to operate in relation to any workers and that another
wages council shall operate in relation to them, the order may
provide that anything done by, or to give effect to proposals made
by, the first-mentioned council shall have effect in relation to
those workers as if it had been done by, or to give effect to
proposals made by, the second-mentioned council and may make such
further provision as appears to the Ministry to be expedient in
connection with the transition.

(4)Where an order of the Ministry under this section directs that a
wages council shall be abolished or shall cease to operate in
relation to any workers, then, save as is otherwise provided by the
order, anything done by, or to give effect to proposals made by,
the wages council shall, except as respects things previously done
or omitted to be done, cease to have effect or, as the case may
be, cease to have effect in relation to the workers in relation to
whom the council ceases to operate.

Subs.(5) rep. by 1976 NI 16 art.82(3) sch.7[

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 6A
Exclusion orders.

6A.(1) The Department may by order exclude from the field of
operation of a wages council the workers of any undertaking in
relation to whom, or a substantial proportion of whom, there are,
in the opinion of the Department, satisfactory arrangements for
collective bargaining.

(2) An application for an order under sub-section (1) may be made
by either party to the arrangements for collective bargaining
mentioned in that sub-section or by both such parties jointly.

(3) Before making an order under sub-section (1) the Department
shall consult the wages council whose field of operation would be
affected by such order and take into consideration any observations
which that wages council may make.]

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 7
General provisions as to wages councils.

7.(1) The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have
effect with respect to the constitution, officers and proceedings of
wages councils.

(2) A wages council shall consider, as occasion requires, any matter
referred to it by the [Department, the Labour Relations Agency or
any government department] with reference to the industrial conditions
prevailing as respects the workers and employers in relation to whom
it operates, and shall make a report upon the matter to the
[Department, the Labour Relations Agency or that government department
(as the case may be)], and a wages council may, if it thinks it
expedient so to do, make of its own motion a recommendation to the
[Department, the Labour Relations Agency or any government department]
with reference to the said conditions, and where such a
recommendation is so made, the [Department, the Labour Relations
Agency or that government department (as the case may be)], shall
forthwith take it into consideration.

[(3) A wages council may encourage the development of effective
consultation and negotiations in relation to matters concerning the
relationship between employers and workers represented on that wages
council.]

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 8
Central co-ordinating committees.

8.(1) The Ministry may, if it thinks fit so to do, by order
establish a central co-ordinating committee in relation to any two
or more wages councils, or abolish, or vary the field of operation
of, any central co-ordinating committee so established:

Provided that, except where the next succeeding sub-section applies,
the Ministry shall, before making any such order, consult the wages
councils concerned.

(2) Where [the Agency] makes a wages council recommendation or a
recommendation for the abolition of a wages council, it may include
in its report

(a)in the case of a wages council recommendation, a recommendation
for the establishment, in relation to any wages council established
in accordance with the recommendation and any other wages council,
of a central co-ordinating committee, or for the variation of the
field of operation of an existing central co-ordinating committee so
that it operates also in connection with any wages council so
established;

(b)in the case of a recommendation for the abolition of a wages
council, a recommendation for the variation of the field of
operation of an existing central co-ordinating committee so that it
no longer operates in relation to the council to be abolished, or
a recommendation for the abolition of any existing central
co-ordinating committee theretofore operating in relation to the wages
council to be abolished;

(3) The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have
effect with respect to the constitution, officers and proceedings of
any such central co-ordinating committee.

(4) It shall be the duty of any central co-ordinating committee
from time to time

(a)to consider whether the field of operation of the wages councils
in relation to which it is established is properly divided as
between those councils and to report thereon to the Ministry;

(b)to make recommendations to those councils with respect to the
principles to be followed by them in the exercise of their powers
under this Act; and

(c)to consider any question referred to it by the Ministry or by
the said councils or any two or more of them, and to report
thereon to the Ministry, or to the councils which referred the
question, as the case may be.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 9
General provisions as to the Agency.

9. Subs.(1) rep. by 1976 NI 16 art.82(3) sch.7

(2) Where any application, question or other matter is referred
under this Part of this Act to [the Agency, the Agency] shall make
all such investigations as appear to it to be necessary and shall
publish in the prescribed manner a notice stating the questions
which it is its duty to consider by virtue of the reference and
further stating that it will consider representations with respect
thereto made to it in writing within such period as may be
specified in the notice, not being less than forty days from the
date of the publication thereof; and it shall consider any
representations made to it within that period and then make such
further inquiries as it considers necessary including, so far as it
considers necessary, the hearing of oral evidence.

(3) Any power conferred by this Part of this Act on the Ministry
to make an order giving effect to a recommendation of [the Agency]
shall be construed as including power to make an order giving
effect to that recommendation with such modifications as the Ministry
thinks fit, being modifications which, in the opinion of the
Ministry, do not effect important alterations in the character of
the recommendation.

(4) Where the Ministry receives any report from [the Agency] it
may, if it thinks fit, refer the report back to [the Agency and
the Agency] shall thereupon reconsider it having regard to any
observations made by the Ministry and shall make a further report,
and the like proceedings shall be had on any such further report
as in the case of an original report.

Power to fix remuneration and holidays.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 10

10.(1) Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this
section, any wages council shall have power to submit to the
Ministry proposals (hereafter in this Act referred to as "wages
regulation proposals")

(a)for fixing the remuneration to be paid, either generally or for
any particular work, by their employers to all or any of the
workers in relation to whom the council operates;

(b)for requiring all or any such workers as aforesaid to be allowed
holidays by their employers.

The power to submit proposals for fixing remuneration shall include
power to submit proposals for fixing holiday remuneration.

(2) Wages regulation proposals for requiring a worker to be allowed
a holiday shall not be made unless both holiday remuneration in
respect of the period of the holiday and remuneration other than
holiday remuneration have been or are being fixed under this Part
of this Act for that worker, shall provide for the duration of the
holiday being related to the duration of the period for which the
worker has been employed or engaged to be employed by the employer
who is to allow the holiday, and, subject as aforesaid, may make
provision as to the times at which or the periods within which,
and the circumstances in which, the holiday shall be allowed; and
wages regulation proposals for fixing holiday remuneration may contain
provisions as to the times at which, and the conditions subject to
which, that remuneration shall accrue and shall become payable, and
for securing that any such remuneration which has accrued due to a
worker during his employment by any employer shall, in the event of
his ceasing to be employed by that employer before he becomes
entitled to be allowed a holiday by him, nevertheless become payable
by the employer to the worker.

(3) Before submitting any wages regulation proposals to the Ministry,
a wages council shall make such investigations as it thinks fit and
shall publish, in the prescribed manner, notice of the proposals,
stating the place where copies of the proposals may be obtained and
the period (which shall not be less than twenty-one days from the
date of the publication of the notice) within which written
representations with respect to the proposals may be sent to the
council; and the council shall consider any written representations
made to it within that period and shall make such further inquiries
as it considers necessary and may then submit the proposals to the
Ministry either without amendment or with such amendments as it
thinks fit having regard to the representations:

Provided that

(a)if the council, before publishing its proposals, resolves that, in
the event of no representation with respect to the proposals being
made to it within the said period, the proposals shall, without
more, be submitted to the Ministry, the proposals shall, if no
representation is so made, be submitted to the Ministry accordingly;

(b)where a central co-ordinating committee has been established in
relation to wages councils of which the council submitting the
proposals is one, the council shall, when it submits its proposals
to the Ministry, at the same time transmit a copy thereof to that
committee, and the Ministry shall take into consideration any
observations which that committee may make to it thereon within
fourteen days from the date on which the proposals were submitted
to the Ministry.

(4) Where the Ministry receives any wages regulation proposals it
shall make an order (hereafter in this Act referred to as a "wages
regulation order") giving effect to the proposals as from such date
as may be specified in the order:

Provided that the Ministry may, if it thinks fit, refer the
proposals back to the council and the council shall thereupon
reconsider them having regard to any observations made by the
Ministry and may, if it thinks fit, re-submit the proposals to the
Ministry either without amendment or with such amendments as the
council thinks fit having regard to those observations; and where
proposals are so re-submitted, the like proceedings shall be had
thereon as in the case of original proposals.

The date to be so specified shall be a date subsequent to the
date of the order, and where, as respects any worker who is paid
wages at intervals not exceeding seven days, the date so specified
does not correspond with the beginning of the period for which the
wages are paid, the order shall, as respects that worker, become
effective as from the beginning of the next such period following
the date specified in the order.

(5) As soon as the Ministry has made a wages regulation order, it
shall give notice of the making thereof to the wages council and
that council shall give such notice of the order and the contents
thereof as may be prescribed for the purpose of informing, so far
as practicable, all persons who will be thereby affected.

(6) Any wages regulation proposals and any wages regulation order
for giving effect thereto may make different provision for different
cases, and may also contain provision for the amendment or
revocation of previous wages regulation orders.

(7) No wages regulation order shall have effect so as to prejudice
any rights as to remuneration or holidays conferred on any worker
by or under any Act other than this Act.

(8) Remuneration (including holiday remuneration) fixed by a wages
regulation order is hereafter in this Act referred to as "statutory
minimum remuneration."

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 11
Effect and enforcement of wages regulation orders.

11.(1) If a contract between a worker to whom a wages regulation
order applies and his employer provides for the payment of less
remuneration than the statutory minimum remuneration, it shall have
effect as if for that less remuneration there were substituted the
statutory minimum remuneration, and if any such contract provides for
the payment of any holiday remuneration at times or subject to
conditions other than those specified in the order, it shall have
effect as if for those times or conditions there were substituted
the times or conditions specified in the order.

(2) If an employer fails to pay to a worker to whom a wages
regulation order applies remuneration not less than the statutory
minimum remuneration, or fails to pay to any such worker holiday
remuneration at the times and subject to the conditions specified in
the order or fails to allow to any such worker the holidays fixed
by the order, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding [#100] for each offence, and where the employer or
any other person charged as a person to whose act or default the
offence was due has been found guilty of an offence under this
section consisting of a failure to pay remuneration not less than
the statutory minimum remuneration, the court may order the employer
to pay to the worker such sum as is found by the court to
represent the difference between the amount which ought to have been
paid to the worker by way of remuneration, if the provisions of
this Part of this Act had been complied with, and the amount
actually so paid.

(3) Where proceedings are brought under the last preceding
sub-section in respect of an offence consisting of a failure to pay
remuneration not less than the statutory minimum remuneration, then,
if notice of intention so to do has been served with the summons,
warrant or complaint

(a)evidence may, on the employer or any other person charged as a
person to whose act or default the offence was due having been
found guilty of the offence, be given of any like contravention on
the part of the employer in respect of any period during the two
years immediately preceding the date of the offence; and

(b)on proof of the failure, the court may order the employer to
pay to the worker such sum as is found by the court to represent
the difference between the amount which ought to have been paid
during that period to the worker by way of remuneration, if the
provisions of this Part of this Act had been complied with, and
the amount actually so paid.

(4) The powers given by this section for the recovery of sums due
from an employer to a worker shall not be in derogation of any
right to recover such sums by civil proceedings.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 12
Permits to infirm and incapacitated persons.

12.(1) If, as respects any worker employed or desiring to be
employed in such circumstances that a wages regulation order applies
or will apply to him, the wages council is satisfied on application
being made to it for a permit under this section either by the
worker or the employer or a prospective employer, that the worker
is affected by infirmity or physical incapacity which renders him
incapable of earning the statutory minimum remuneration, it may, if
it thinks fit, grant, subject to such conditions, if any, as it
may determine, a permit authorising his employment at less than the
statutory minimum remuneration, and while the permit is in force the
remuneration authorised to be paid to him by the permit shall, if
those conditions are complied with, be deemed to be the statutory
minimum remuneration.

(2) Where an employer employs any worker in reliance on any
document purporting to be a permit granted under the preceding
sub-section authorising the employment of that worker at less than
the statutory minimum remuneration, then, if the employer has
notified the wages council in question that, relying on that
document, he is employing or proposing to employ that worker at a
specified remuneration, the document shall, notwithstanding that it is
not or is no longer a valid permit relating to that worker, be
deemed, subject to the terms thereof and as respects only any
period after the notification, to be such a permit until notice to
the contrary is received by the employer from the council.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 13
Computation of remuneration.

13.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any reference in
this Part of this Act to remuneration shall be construed as a
reference to the amount obtained or to be obtained in cash by the
worker from his employer after allowing for the worker's necessary
expenditure, if any, in connection with his employment, and clear of
all deductions in respect of any matter whatsoever, except any
deduction lawfully made

(a)under the Income Tax Acts, ... [the [enactments relating to ...
social security]], or any enactment requiring or authorising
deductions to be made for the purposes of a superannuation scheme;

(b)at the request in writing of the worker, either for the purposes
of a superannuation scheme or a thrift scheme or for any purpose
in the carrying out of which the employer has no beneficial
financial interest, whether directly or indirectly; or

(c)in pursuance of, or in accordance with, such a contract in that
behalf as is mentioned in section one, two or three of the Truck
Act, 1896, and in accordance with the provisions of that section.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding sub-section, wages
regulation proposals and wages regulation orders may contain
provisions authorising specified benefits or advantages, being benefits
or advantages provided, in pursuance of the terms and conditions of
the employment of workers, by the employer or by some other person
under arrangements with the employer and not being benefits or
advantages the provision of which is illegal by virtue of the Truck
Acts (Northern Ireland), 1831 to 1940, or of any other enactment,
to be reckoned as payment of wages by the employer in lieu of
payment in cash, and defining the value at which any such benefits
or advantages are to be reckoned.

(3) If any payment is made by a worker in respect of any benefit
or advantage provided as mentioned in the last preceding sub-section,
then

(a)if the benefit or advantage is authorised by virtue of that
sub-section to be reckoned as therein mentioned, the amount of the
payment shall be deducted from the defined value for the purposes
of the reckoning;

(b)if the benefit or advantage is authorised by virtue of that
sub-section to be reckoned as therein mentioned, any excess of the
amount of the payment over the defined value shall be treated for
the purposes of sub-section (1) of this section as if it had been
a deduction not being one of the excepted deductions therein
mentioned;

(c)if the benefit or advantage is specified in a wages regulation
order as one which has been taken into account in fixing the
statutory minimum remuneration, the whole of the payment shall be
treated for the purposes of sub-section (1) of this section as if
it had been a deduction not being one of the excepted deductions
therein mentioned.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising the
making of any deduction, or the giving of remuneration in any
manner, which is illegal by virtue of the Truck Acts (Northern
Ireland), 1831 to 1940, or of any other enactment.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 14
Employers not to receive premiums.

14.(1) Where a worker to whom a wages regulation order applies is
an apprentice or learner, it shall not be lawful for his employer
to receive directly or indirectly from him, or on his behalf or on
his account, any payment by way of premium:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any such
payment duly made in pursuance of any instrument of apprenticeship
not later than four weeks after the commencement of the
apprenticeship or to any such payment made at any time if duly
made in pursuance of any instrument of apprenticeship approved for
the purposes of this proviso by a wages council.

(2) If any employer acts in contravention of this section, he shall
be liable on summary conviction in respect of each offence to a
fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and the court may, in addition to
imposing a fine, order him to repay to the worker or other person
by whom the payment was made the sum improperly received by way of
premium.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 15
Records and notices.

15.(1) The employer of any workers to whom a wages regulation order
applies shall keep such records of time worked and of wages paid
and such other records as are necessary to show whether or not the
provisions of this Part of this Act are being complied with as
respects them, and the records shall be retained by the employer
for three years.

(2) The employer of any workers shall post in the prescribed manner
such notices as may be prescribed for the purpose of informing them
of any wages regulation proposals or wages regulation order affecting
them, and, if it is so prescribed, shall give notice in any other
prescribed manner to the said workers of the said matters and of
such other matters, if any, as may be prescribed.

(3) If an employer fails to comply with any of the requirements of
this section, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding [#100].

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 16
Criminal liability of agent and superior employer, and special
defence open to employer.

16.(1) Where the immediate employer of any worker is himself in the
employment of some other person and that worker is employed on the
premises of that other person, that other person shall for the
purposes of this Part of this Act be deemed to be the employer of
that worker jointly with the immediate employer.

(2) Where an employer is charged with an offence under this Part
of this Act, he shall be entitled, upon information duly laid by
him and on giving to the prosecution not less than three days'
notice in writing of his intention, to have any other person to
whose act or default he alleges that the offence in question was
due brought before the court at the time appointed for the hearing
of the charge; and if, after the commission of the offence has
been proved, the employer proves that the offence was due to the
act or the default of that other person, that other person may be
convicted of the offence, and, if the employer further proves that
he has used all due diligence to secure that this Part of this
Act and any relevant regulation or order made thereunder are
complied with, he shall be acquitted of the offence.

(3) Where a defendant seeks to avail himself of the provisions of
the last preceding sub-section:

(a)the prosecution, as well as the person whom the defendant charges
with the offence, shall have the right to cross-examine him if he
gives evidence and any witnesses called by him in support of his
pleas and to call rebutting evidence;

(b)the court may make such order as it thinks fit for the payment
of costs by any party to the proceedings to any other party
thereto.

(4) Where it appears to an officer acting for the purposes of this
Part of this Act that an offence has been committed in respect of
which proceedings might be taken under this Part of this Act
against an employer, and the officer is reasonably satisfied that
the offence of which complaint is made was due to an act or
default of some other person and that the employer could establish
a defence under sub-section (2) of this section the officer may
cause proceedings to be taken against that other person without
first causing proceedings to be taken against the employer.

In any such proceedings the defendant may be charged with and, on
proof that the offence was due to his act or default, be convicted
of, the offence with which the employer might have been charged.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 17
Officers.

17.(1) The Ministry, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance
as to numbers and salaries, may appoint officers to act for the
purposes of this Part of this Act.

(2) Every officer acting for the purposes of this Part of this Act
shall be furnished by the Ministry with a certificate of his
appointment or authority so to act, and when acting under this Part
of this Act shall, if so required by any person affected, produce
the certificate to him.

(3) An officer acting for the purposes of this Part of this Act
shall have power for the performance of his duties

(a)to require the production of wages sheets or other records of
time worked or of wages paid kept by an employer, and records of
payments made to outworkers by persons giving out work, and any
other such records as are required by this Part of this Act to be
kept by employers, and to inspect and examine those sheets or
records and copy any material part thereof;

(b)to require any person giving out work and any outworker to give
any information which it is in his power to give with respect to
the names and addresses of the persons to whom the work is given
out or from whom the work is received, as the case may be, and
with respect to the payments made or to be made for the work;

(c)at all reasonable times to enter any premises or place at which
any employer to whom a wages regulation order applies carries on
his business (including any place used, in connection with that
business, for giving out work to outworkers and any premises which
the officer has reasonable cause to believe to be used by or by
arrangement with the employer to provide living accommodation for
workers);

(d)to inspect and copy any material part of any list of outworkers
kept by an employer or person giving out work to outworkers;

(e)to examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person,
as he thinks fit, with respect to any matters under this Part of
this Act, any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be
or to have been a worker to whom a wages regulation order applies
or applied or the employer of any such person or a servant or
agent of the employer employed in the employer's business and to
require every such person to be so examined and to sign a
declaration of the truth of the matters in respect of which he is
so examined:

Provided that no person shall be required under paragraph (e) of
this sub-section to give any information tending to criminate himself
[or, in the case of a person who is married, his or her wife or
husband].

(4) An officer acting for the purposes of this Part of this Act
may institute proceedings for any offence under this Part of this
Act and may, although not of counsel or a solicitor, conduct any
such proceedings.

(5) An officer acting for the purposes of this Part of this Act
who is authorised in that behalf by general or special directions
of the Ministry may, if it appears to him that a sum is due from
an employer to a worker on account of the payment to him of
remuneration less than the statutory minimum remuneration and that it
is not possible to recover, by means of a prosecution under the
foregoing provisions of this Act, the sum so appearing to be due,
or some part of that sum, institute on behalf and in the name of
the worker civil proceedings before any court of competent
jurisdiction for the recovery of the said sum; and in any such
civil proceedings the court may make an order for the payment of
costs by the officer as if he were a party to the proceedings.

The power given by this sub-section for the recovery of sums due
from an employer to a worker shall not be in derogation of any
right of the worker to recover such sums by civil proceedings.

(6) Any person who obstructs an officer acting for the purposes of
this Part of this Act in the exercise of any power conferred by
this section, or refuses to comply with any requirement of such an
officer made in the exercise of any such power, shall be liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [#100].

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 18
Penalty for false entries in records, producing false records or
giving false information.

18. If any person makes or causes to be made or knowingly allows
to be made any entry in a record required by this Part of this
Act to be kept by employers, which he knows to be false in a
material particular, or for purposes connected with this Part of
this Act produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be
produced or furnished, any wages sheet, record, list or information
which he knows to be false in a material particular, he shall be
liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [#400] or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both such
fine and such imprisonment.

Power of Ministry to assist schemes for securing holidays with pay.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 19

19.(1) Where a scheme for securing holidays with pay for any
workers in an industry or in a branch of an industry is, on the
joint application of an organisation representing employers and an
organisation representing workers in the industry or branch, approved
by the Ministry, the Ministry may, in accordance with arrangements
made by it with the consent of the Ministry of Finance, assist the
administration of that scheme by directing an officer or officers of
the Ministry to help in the administration thereof and by such
other means as the Ministry thinks fit.

(2) The Ministry may, in accordance with such arrangements as
aforesaid, issue on behalf of employers to workers to whom any such
scheme applies sums by way of holiday payments; but any arrangement
making provision for the issue of any such sums shall also make
provision for the payment to the Ministry of any sums to be so
issued by it and of any expenses incurred by the Ministry which
are attributable to that scheme.

Part IV (s.20) rep. by SLR (NI) 1952

Certain existing trade boards to become wages councils.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 21

21.(1) The Trade Boards Acts (Northern Ireland), 1923 to 1944, are
hereby repealed, and the transitional provisions contained in the
subsequent provisions of this section shall have effect.

(2) The trade boards mentioned in the Fourth Schedule to this Act
being trade boards duly established under the said Acts and existing
at the commencement of this Act shall, by virtue of this Act and
without more, be deemed to be wages councils duly established under
Part I of this Act by wages council orders (notwithstanding that
the constitution of any such trade board is not in all respects in
accordance with the provisions of this Act) and operating in
relation to the workers and employers in relation to whom they
respectively operated immediately before the commencement of this Act
and the style of each of those trade boards shall be altered
accordingly:

Provided that

(a)the Ministry may by order direct that, on such date as may be
specified in the order, the constitution of any such trade board
shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(b)until such date as may be so specified, any regulations made
under the said Acts with respect to the constitution of any such
trade board shall, by virtue of this sub-section, continue to have
effect.

Subs.(3) rep. in pt. by SLR (NI) 1954, residue spent; subs.(4)
spent

(5) Any reference in any document (other than an enactment repealed
by this Act) to a trade board shall be construed as including a
reference to a wages council.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 22
Orders and regulations.

22.(1) The Ministry may make regulations for prescribing anything
which by this Act is required or authorised to be prescribed.

(2) Any order of the Ministry made under Part I of this Act and
any regulation made under any of the provisions of this Act shall
(together, in the case of an order, with the report of [the
Agency] relating thereto) be laid as soon as may be before each
House of Parliament, and if either House of Parliament, within the
statutory period next after any such order or regulation has been
laid before it, resolves that the order or regulation be annulled
it shall thenceforth be void but without prejudice to the validity
of anything done thereunder in the meantime or to the making of a
new order or regulation.

If one or more of a set of regulations is or are so annulled the
Ministry may, if it thinks fit, withdraw the whole set.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 23
Expenses.

23. The expenses of the Ministry in carrying this Act into effect,
and any expenses authorised by the Ministry with the consent of the
Ministry of Finance to be incurred by a wages council, ..., or a
central co-ordinating committee established under this Act by order
of the Ministry, shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by
Parliament.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 24
Interpretation.

24.(1) In this Act the following expressions have the meanings
hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say,

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under this Act;

"organisation" includes, in relation to workers, an association of
trade unions, and, in relation to employers, an association of
organisations of employers;

"statutory period" means ...

definition in 1954 c.33 (NI) s.41(2) substituted by 1979 NI 12
art.10

"superannuation scheme" means any enactment, rules, deed or other
instrument, providing for the payment of annuities or lump sums to
the persons with respect to whom the instrument has effect on their
retirement at a specified age or on becoming incapacitated at some
earlier age, or to the personal representatives or the widows,
relatives or dependants of such persons on their death or otherwise,
whether with or without any further or other benefits;

"thrift scheme" means any arrangement for savings, for providing
money for holidays or for other purposes, under which a worker is
entitled to receive in cash sums equal to or greater than the
aggregate of any sums deducted from his remuneration or paid by him
for the purposes of the scheme;

"trade union" includes an association of trade unions;

["wages council" means a wages council established under this Act];

"worker" means any person who has entered into or works under a
contract with an employer, whether the contract be for manual
labour, clerical work or otherwise, be expressed or implied, oral or
in writing and whether it be a contract of service or of
apprenticeship or a contract personally to execute any work or
labour, except that the said expression does not include any person
who is employed casually and otherwise than for the purposes of the
employer's business.

Subs.(2) rep. by 1954 c.33 (NI) s.48(1) sch.

(3) Any power conferred by this Act to prescribe the manner in
which anything is to be published shall include a power to
prescribe the date which is to be taken for the purposes of this
Act as the date of the publication.

TH DECEMBER 1945] 4 P ART I - SECT 25
Short title.

25.(1) This Act may be cited as the Wages Councils Act (Northern
Ireland), 1945.

Subs.(2) rep. by SLR (NI) 1952

Sections 7 and 8.

1. A wages council or central co-ordinating committee shall consist
of persons appointed by the Ministry, being

(a)not more than three persons chosen by the Ministry as being
independent persons;

(b)such number as the Ministry thinks fit of persons who, in its
opinion, represent employers in relation to whom the council or, as
the case may be, the councils in question, is or are to operate;
and

(c)such number as the Ministry thinks fit of persons who, in its
opinion, represent workers in relation to whom the council or, as
the case may be, the councils in question, is or are to operate.

2. Of the persons appointed under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1
of this Schedule, one shall be appointed by the Ministry to act as
chairman, and another may be appointed by the Ministry to act as
deputy chairman in the absence of the chairman.

3. Before appointing a person under sub-paragraph (b) or
sub-paragraph (c) of the said paragraph 1, the Ministry shall
consult any organisations appearing to it to represent employers, or,
as the case may be, workers, concerned, and the persons appointed
under those sub-paragraphs shall be equal in number.

4.The Ministry may appoint a secretary and such other officers as
it thinks fit of a wages council or central co-ordinating committee.

5. The proceedings of a wages council or central co-ordinating
committee shall not be invalidated by reason of any vacancy therein
or by any defect in the appointment of a member.

6. A wages council or central co-ordinating committee may, if it
thinks fit, delegate any of its powers under this Act (except, in
the case of a wages council, the power to submit wages regulation
proposals) to a committee or, as the case may be, sub-committee
consisting of such number of persons, being members of the council
or committee, as the council or committee thinks fit;

Provided that the members of the committee or sub-committee
representing employers and the members of the committee or
sub-committee representing workers shall be equal in number.

7. The Ministry may make regulations as to the meetings and
procedure of a wages council or central co-ordinating committee and
of any committee or, as the case may be, sub-committee thereof,
including regulations as to the quorum and the method of voting,
but, subject to the provisions of this Act and to any regulations
so made, a wages council or central co-ordinating committee and any
committee or, as the case may be, sub-committee thereof may regulate
its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

8. The term for which a member of a wages council or central
co-ordinating committee is to hold office shall be such as may be
determined by the Ministry at the time of his appointment, and the
conditions subject to which he is to hold office shall be such as
may be prescribed.

9. There may be paid to the members of a wages council or central
co-ordinating committee appointed under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph
1 of this Schedule such remuneration, and to any member of any
such council or committee, such travelling and other allowances, as
the Ministry may, with the consent of the Ministry of Finance,
determine, and all such remuneration and allowances shall be defrayed
as part of the expenses of the Ministry in carrying this Act into
effect.

Second Schedule rep. by 1976 NI 16 art.82(3) sch.7. Third Schedule
rep. by SLR (NI) 1952Fifth Schedule rep. by SLR (NI) 1952