EMPLOYERS AND SERVANTS ORDINANCE

EMPLOYERS AND SERVANTS ORDINANCE

CHAPTER 57.

EMPLOYERS AND SERVANTS.

To amend the law relating to employers and servants.

[19th December, 1902.]

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Employers and

Servants Ordinance.

2. In this Ordinance-

'contract of service' means any contract, whether in writing or verbal,
to work personally for any period of time;

'employer' includes any person, firm, corporation or company who, or
which, enters into any contract of service with any servant as
next hereinafter defined, and the agent of every such person, firm,
corporation or company;

'servant' includes every person above the age of sixteen years, being
a mechanic, artificer or other handicraftsman, engine-driver or
fireman, driver or attendant of any mechanically propelled vehicle,
boatman, any person engaged for service on board any launch,
motor boat, cargo boat, fishing junk or trading junk, shop or office
assistant, messenger, lift attendant, godownkeeper, tallyman,
watchman, labourer, servant in husbandry or manufacture,
coachman, groom or other stable servant, gardener or other
garden servant, bearer of private chair, puller or propeller of
private jinriksha, water carrier, domestic menial or other house
servant whether ordinarily employed in or out of doors, who
enters into a contract of service with an employer;

'wages' includes basic cash wages, all cash allowances or payments
which are of a constant character and, where such is certain or
ascertainable the cash value of any food, fuel or quarters supplied
to the servant by the employer, but shall not include remuneration
for intermittent overtime, nor casual payments of a non-recurrent
nature, nor any ex gratia payment whether given by the employer
or any other person, nor the value of any travelling allowances,
nor the value of any travelling concession or contribution paid by
the employer towards any pension or provident fund, nor





any sum paid to a servant to cover any special expenses

falling upon him by nature of his employment.

3. Any person over the age of sixteen years may enter into a
contract of service under this Ordinance.

4. (1) Every contract of service (except in the case of hire by the
day, job or journey) shall until the contrary is proved be deemed to be
a contract for one month renewable from month to month, and every
such contract shall be deemed to be so renewed unless such contract
is determined in the manner prescribed in section 5.

(2) Every servant under such contract shall, in addition to any
service which he may have specially contracted to perform, be deemed
to have contracted to perform all such additional light duties as he may
reasonably be called upon by his employer to perform.

5. Every such contract may be determined-

(d)by either party thereto giving to the other notice to
determine such contract at the termination of one calendar
month from the date of such notice; or

(b)at any time without notice by the employer paying to the
servant in lieu of such notice the wages, if any, due to him
for the time he has served and a further sum of money equal
to one month's wages from the date of the determination of
such contract.

6. A contract of service for more than one month shall be in
writing and shall be executed in the manner hereinafter prescribed.

7. Every such contract shall be, executed in duplicate in the
presence of a magistrate, or in the case of any sailor, boatman or other
person engaged for service on any cargo boat or fishing or trading
junk before the police officer in charge of the police station of the
district in which such contract is made, who shall before the execution
thereof explain to the servant the nature of such contract, and upon the
execution thereof shall indorse thereon his certificate that such
contract has been duly explained by him to such servant, and
thereafter shall deliver such duplicate to such servant.





8. No such contract shall be effective for a longer period than
five years if made beyond the Colony, nor shall be for a longer period
than three years if made within the Colony.

9. Any person beyond the Colony desiring to enter into a
contract to serve within the Colony may do so in writing in the
presence of two witnesses who shall certify as such witnesses that the
contract was, before the execution thereof, duly explained to the party
or parties executing the same.

10. Every such contract shall clearly express therein the time for
which it is to endure, the wages to be paid, the nature of the service to
be performed, the sum of money (if any) to be chargeable against and
deducted from the wages, and that the employer is bound to provide
regular work at stipulated wages for the servant.

11. Any magistrate, upon proof that such contract has been duly
executed, may, if so desired by the parties thereto, indorse such
contract as acknowledged before him and thereupon such contract
shall be as valid and binding within the Colony as a contract of service
in writing executed within the Colony.

12. Every question between the parties to any contract of service
respecting wages, and every question respecting any alleged wrongful
determination of any contract of service, shall be heard and determined
by a magistrate in a summary manner in accordance with the law
regulating procedure before magistrates.

13. On the hearing of any complaint for the recovery of wages the
magistrate may order that the whole or any part of any wages claimed
be withheld, or that the whole or any part of any wages, with such an
amount not exceeding ten days' wages in addition as may seem just,
shall be paid by way of compensation to the servant for unpaid wages.

14. On the hearing of any complaint for wrongful determination
of any contract of service the magistrate may order any wages due on
the contract to be paid or withheld either





wholly or in part and may, if he sees fit, order the party in default to
pay to the other party any sum not exceeding one month's wages by
way of compensation for the wrongful determination of the contract.

15. The wages of a servant shall in the absence of agreement to
the contrary, be payable monthly.

16. No wages shall be payable to any servant for the period of his
term of service during which he has undergone sentence of
imprisonment.

17. On the hearing of any complaint under this Ordinance the
parties to the contract of service and their, husbands and wives shall
be competent as witnesses.

18. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to deprive an
employer of his right to dismiss a servant summarily for cause, nor to
deprive an employer or a servant of his civil remedy for the breach or
non-performance of any contract of service in any case where
proceedings for such breach or non-performance are not instituted by
him under this Ordinance.

19. Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent the application of the
criminal law to the parties to a contract of service.

20. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be deem ed to affect in any
way the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, or the
Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1899, with reference to the engagement
of seamen and to agreements



with seamen made by masters of ships.
Originally 45 of 1902. Fraser 45 of 1902. 24 of 1950. Short title. Interpretation. 24 of 1950, Schedule. 24 of 1950, Schedule [s. 2 cont.] Person over sixteen may contract. Contract if verbal to be monthly unless within exceptions. Determination of monthly contract. Contract for more than one month to be in writing. To be executed in duplicate; servant entitled to duplicate. 24 of 1950, Schedule. Limitation of duration of contract. Contract made beyond Colony for execution within. What conditions shall be stated therein. Indorsement of contract by magistrate. Questions to be determined by magistrate. Power of magistrate over wages. Power of magistrate in cases of wrongful determination of contract. [s. 14 cont.] Wages payable monthly. Forfeiture of wages. Parties and spouses competent witnesses. Saving of civil remedy in cases of breach or non-performance of contract. Saving of criminal law. Saving of Merchant Shipping laws. (57 & 58 Vict. C. 60.) (10 of 1899.)

Originally 45 of 1902. Fraser 45 of 1902. 24 of 1950. Short title. Interpretation. 24 of 1950, Schedule. 24 of 1950, Schedule [s. 2 cont.] Person over sixteen may contract. Contract if verbal to be monthly unless within exceptions. Determination of monthly contract. Contract for more than one month to be in writing. To be executed in duplicate; servant entitled to duplicate. 24 of 1950, Schedule. Limitation of duration of contract. Contract made beyond Colony for execution within. What conditions shall be stated therein. Indorsement of contract by magistrate. Questions to be determined by magistrate. Power of magistrate over wages. Power of magistrate in cases of wrongful determination of contract. [s. 14 cont.] Wages payable monthly. Forfeiture of wages. Parties and spouses competent witnesses. Saving of civil remedy in cases of breach or non-performance of contract. Saving of criminal law. Saving of Merchant Shipping laws. (57 & 58 Vict. C. 60.) (10 of 1899.)

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