Shops (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1938

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Provisions as to sanitary or other arrangements in shops.

55.—(1) In every part of a shop in which persons are employed by the proprietor of such shop to do shop work—

(a) suitable and sufficient means of ventilation shall be provided and suitable and sufficient ventilation shall be maintained;

(b) suitable and sufficient means shall be provided to maintain a reasonable temperature and a reasonable temperature shall be maintained.

(2) In every shop, not being a shop in respect of which an order made under sub-section (6) of this section is for the time being in force, there shall be provided and maintained suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences available for the use of persons employed in or about the shop.

(3) In every part of a shop in which persons are employed to do shop work, suitable and sufficient means of lighting shall be provided, and every such part of such shop shall be kept suitably and sufficiently lighted.

(4) In every shop, not being a shop in respect of which an order made under sub-section (7) of this section is for the time being in force, there shall be provided and maintained suitable and sufficient washing facilities available for the use of persons employed in or about the shop.

(5) Where any persons doing shop work take any meals in a shop, there shall be provided suitable and sufficient facilities for taking those meals.

(6) Where the sanitary authority for a sanitary district are satisfied as respects any shop in such district that—

(a) by reason of restricted accommodation or other special circumstances affecting such shop, it is reasonable that such shop should be exempted from the obligations imposed by sub-section (2) of this section, and

(b) suitable and sufficient sanitary accommodation is otherwise conveniently available,

the said sanitary authority may, by order (in this section referred to as an exemption order) exempt such shop from the said obligations.

(7) Where the sanitary authority for a sanitary district are satisfied as respects any shop in that district that—

(a) by reason of restricted accommodation or other special circumstances affecting such shop, it is reasonable that such shop should be exempted from the obligations imposed by sub-section (4) of this section, and

(b) suitable and sufficient washing facilities are otherwise conveniently available,

the said sanitary authority may by order (in this section also referred to as an exemption order) exempt such shop from the said obligations.

(8) Where an exemption order in relation to any shop is in force the sanitary authority by which such order was made may by order (in this section referred to as a cancellation order) which shall specify the grounds upon which it is made cancel the said exemption order.

(9) Where a sanitary authority make in relation to any shop a cancellation order, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the sanitary authority shall serve on the proprietor of such shop a copy of such order, and such order shall if no appeal against such order is made under the next following paragraph, come into force at the expiration of the twenty-first day after the date of the service of such copy;

(b) such proprietor may before such expiration appeal to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health against such cancellation order;

(c) in the event of such appeal being duly made, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(i) the said Minister shall, after considering the matter, make, as he thinks proper, either an order (in this section referred to as a confirming order) confirming such cancellation order or an order revoking such cancellation order;

(ii) such cancellation order shall not come into force unless the said Minister makes a confirming order, and in that event such cancellation order shall come into force on the seventh day after the date of the confirming order.

(10) If it appears to the sanitary authority for a sanitary district that there has been, in the case of any shop in such district a contravention of sub-section (1), sub-section (2), sub-section (3), sub-section (4), or sub-section (5) of this section, the said sanitary authority shall, by notice (in this section referred to as a works notice) served on the proprietor of the shop, require him to take, within such time as may be limited by the notice, such action as may be specified in the notice for the purpose of securing compliance with such sub-section.

(11) Where—

(a) a works notice has been served under the immediately preceding sub-section by a sanitary authority on the proprietor of a shop, and

(b) such shop is a tenement within the meaning of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1931 (No. 55 of 1931), and

(c) such proprietor is the tenant of such shop, and

(d) the action required by the said notice to be taken involves the execution of any work which is an improvement within the meaning of the said Act,

the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(i) the provisions of the said Act shall apply in like manner as if such works notice were a notice under the Public Health Acts, 1878 to 1931, requiring such proprietor to execute a work which is an improvement within the meaning of the said Act;

(ii) if the landlord of such shop has served under and in accordance with section 13 of the said Act, as so applied, a sanitary work undertaking on such proprietor and such proprietor has under the said section 13 served a copy of such sanitary work undertaking on such sanitary authority, such works notice shall for the purpose of sub-section (12) of this present section be deemed to have been served by such sanitary authority on such landlord and be deemed not to have been served on such proprietor.

(12) Whenever a works notice is served or deemed to have been served on any person and such person fails or neglects to comply with the requirements thereof, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or in the case of a subsequent conviction in respect of the same requirement, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or five pounds for every day since the first conviction in respect of that requirement, whichever is the greater.

(13) Where a person is charged with an offence under this section it shall be a defence to prove that there was no contravention of sub-section (1), sub-section (2), sub-section (3), sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) (as the case may be) of this section, or that the requirements of any works notice were, within a reasonable time after service of such notice, complied with in so far as they were necessary to secure compliance with the provisions of such sub-section.

(14) Where a document is required by this section to be served on the proprietor of a shop, such document shall be addressed to such proprietor and shall be served on such proprietor in some one of the following ways, that is to say:—

(a) by delivering it to such proprietor;

(b) by leaving it at the address at which such proprietor ordinarily resides;

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to such proprietor at the address at which he ordinarily resides.

For the purposes of this sub-section a company registered under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924, shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and every body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business within the State.

(15) An order made by a sanitary authority under this section shall be under their seal and shall be authenticated by the signature of their chief executive officer or his lawful deputy, and every notice proceeding from a sanitary authority under this section shall be signed by their chief executive officer or his lawful deputy.

(16) Any document made or proceeding from a sanitary authority under this section may be proved by the production of a copy thereof certified to be a true copy by the person purporting to be the chief executive officer of such sanitary authority or his lawful deputy.