POLLING DAY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 4771, 12 November 1935, Page 5

POLLING DAY

OBSERVANCE OF HALF-HOLIDAY. In connection with the forthcoming elections, the Department of Labour notifies as follows regarding the observance of half-holiday on pollingday, Wednesday, November 27th:— Section 128 of the Electoral Act, 1927, provides as follows: "(2) Where the polling day at any election is other than that appointed as the weekly half-holiday under the Shops and Offices Act, 1921-22, the provisions of that Act relating to the weekly half-holiday shall be deemed to refer to the polling day in lieu of the day so appointed, and it shall not be necessary for any employer to observe the day so appointed in the week in which the polling day falls. (3) It shall not be necessary for any factory to close during any working hours on the polling day, but the occupier of the factory shall afford to each of his employees a reasonable opportunity of recording his vote, and no deduction shall be made from the wages of any such employee in respect of the time occupied in so recording his vote, provided that such time does not exceed one working | hour. (4) Every person who commits any offence against this section is liable to a fine of five pounds." Factory occupiers are thus required merely to give their employees reasonable time to record their votes, but not exceeding one working hour, without deduction from their wages. The occupiers of shops must, however, observe the usual weekly halfholiday in this week upon polling day. In the case of those shops which are not required to observe a statutory closing day, namely, fishmongers, fruiterers, confectioners, florists, dairy produce sellers, bakers, etc., the assistants must be given their halfholiday on polling day.