Shops (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1938

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Daily and weekly working hours, and overtime pay.

20.—(1) It shall not be lawful for the proprietor of a shop to permit any member of the staff of that shop to continue to do shop work for him after the time in any day when such member has completed (whether for such proprietor alone or such proprietor and other persons) eleven hours shop work on such day.

(2) Save as otherwise provided by this section, it shall not be lawful for the proprietor of a shop to permit any member of the staff of that shop to continue to do shop work for him after the time in any week when such member has completed (whether for such proprietor alone or such proprietor and other persons)—

(a) in case such shop is a hotel, fifty-six hours shop work in such week, or

(b) in any other case, forty-eight hours shop work in such week.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the immediately preceding sub-section, the proprietor of a shop may permit any member of the staff of such shop, whose age is sixteen years or more, to do in any week shop work for him for a period in excess of, in case such shop is a hotel, fifty-six hours or, in any other case, forty-eight hours, so however that the number of hours of shop work done (whether for such proprietor alone or such proprietor and other persons) by such member does not exceed—

(a) in case such shop is a hotel—

(i) sixty-six hours in any week, or

(ii) two hundred and forty-four hours in any period of four consecutive weeks, or

(iii) two thousand nine hundred hours in any year, or

(b) in any other case—

(i) sixty hours in any week, or

(ii) two hundred and sixteen hours in any period of four consecutive weeks, or

(iii) two thousand six hundred hours in any year.

(4) Where—

(a) a member of the staff of a shop is allowed in any week (other than, in case such shop is a non-special-trade shop, a week in which he is allowed a whole holiday on every week day thereof or, in any other case, a week in which he is allowed a whole holiday on every day thereof) a whole holiday as part of his annual leave, or

(b) a member of the staff of a non-special-trade shop is allowed a whole holiday on a public holiday or is allowed a whole holiday under the provisions of Part IV of this Act which relate to compensatory holidays to members of staffs of non-special-trade shops engaged in work on public holidays,

such member shall, for the purposes of sub-sections (2) and (3) of this section be deemed to have done on the day on which such whole holiday is allowed eight hours shop work.

In this sub-section the expression “non-special-trade shop” has the same meaning as in Part IV of this Act.

(5) Where a member of the staff of a shop is during any period engaged in doing industrial work, such member shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to have been engaged in doing shop work during that period.

(6) Where the proprietor of a shop permits any member of the staff of that shop to do for him shop work for a number of hours in any week after such member has completed in that week (whether for such proprietor alone or such proprietor and other persons), in case such shop is a hotel, a number of hours of shop work in excess of fifty-six or, in any other case, a number of hours of shop work in excess of forty-eight, such proprietor shall be deemed to have agreed to pay to such member, in respect of each hour of such excess, overtime pay at a rate per hour which represents the normal weekly rate reckoned in terms of hours, and increased by not less than twenty-five per cent.

(7) Subject to the provisions of this section the Minister may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, by order under this sub-section amend in respect of shops of a specified class (defined in such manner and by reference to such things as he thinks fit) in any area specified in or delimited by such order any of the provisions of this section relating to hours, and in that case so long as such order remains in force this section shall, subject to the operation of any order made by the Minister under sub-section (9) of this section, have effect in respect of such shops subject to such amendment.

(8) Subject to the provisions of this section the Minister may by order under this sub-section revoke or amend any order made under sub-section (7) of this section or under this present sub-section.

(9) The Minister may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, by order under this sub-section amend in respect of all shops or shops of a specified class (defined in such manner and by reference to such things as he thinks fit) in any area specified in or delimited by such order any of the provisions of this section relating to hours and declare that such amendment shall apply in respect of a specified period, and in that case the following provisions shall have effect, during the period so specified, that is to say:—

(a) this section shall have effect in respect of such shops subject to such amendment,

(b) if an order under sub-section (7) of this section is in force and such order relates to any shops to which the said order under this sub-section applies, the operation of the said order under the said sub-section (7) shall during the said specified period be suspended.

(10) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under sub-section (7) or sub-section (8) of this section, he shall before making such order consult with—

(a) in case there are, in the opinion of the Minister, any associations representative of proprietors of shops to which such order is intended to apply, such associations, and

(b) in case there are, in the opinion of the Minister, any associations representative of members of the staffs of such shops, such associations.

(11) If the proprietor of a shop acts in contravention of this section, such proprietor shall be guilty of an offence under this section.

(12) Any interval allowed during any day shall not be taken into account in reckoning the number of hours of shop work done on such day.