SHOP ASSISTANTS

Evening Star, Issue 19777, 30 January 1928, Page 5

SHOP ASSISTANTS

NEW LEGISLATION OPERATES TO-MORROW EXEMPTION FOR PETROL SELLERS Important new provisions regarding the employment in shops of boys and gills under the age of sixteen come into force to-morrow.

Sub-section 2 and section 4 of tlie Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1927, provides that no boy or girl under sixteen years shall In any case be employed in connection with the business of any shop before the hour of 7 o’clock in the morning. This provision is entirely new, as hitherto young persons could be employed in butchers’, bakers’ and milk shops from 4 a.m. like other assistants.

Section 5 of the Shops and Offices Act, 1921-22, allowed shopkeepers a period of fifteen minutes “grace" after the time when assistants should cease duty for the purpose of completing any work commenced prior to such time. This provision has now been amended by Section 5 of the Amendment Act of 1927, which provides that an. assistant may be retained only to attend to customers arriving in the shop prior to the closing hour, and to attend to any work incidental thereto, and to balance the cash for the day. it was found that some shopkeepers made a practice of leaving their goods displayed outside their shops until the last moment, but they will now bo required to have all such goods in the shop bciore the closing hour.

Sections 10 and 23 liberate from the necessity of closing for a half-holiday or at any particular time on other days any shop wherein is exclusively carried on the business of selling motor spirits, petrol, or oil. Thus these shops will he able to keep open throughout the wliolo day as from February 1 next, the date on which the Act comes into force.

It should bo particularly noted, however, in regard to assistants tbaF while the provisions fixing the times ot ceasing or commencing work will cease to apply to male assistants, the total number of hours per day and per week will remain the same, and assistants must bo given a half-holiday on some day, each week. .

Section 17, sub-section 3, provides that, where the closing hours of any shops in any district other than a district to which section 31 of the principal Act applies are fixed by a provision in any award, such provision shall cease to operate ns from February lj 1928.; The effect of tin's amendment is that the provisions of any award wTiich fixes the closing hours of slices in any district (except those districts to which section 31 of the Simps and Offices Act, 1921-22, applies) will cense to have effect as from February 1, 1928.

Section 31 of the Shops and Offices Act, 1921-22, applies to the following districts, and to any districts added by Order in Council under section 14 of the 1927 amendment:—Combined district of Dunedin comprises the city of Dunedin, and the boroughs of St.Kilda, West Harbor, Port Chalmers,and Green Island. All these amendments come into forco on February 1, 1928.