HOLIDAY PERIOD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25386, 18 November 1943, Page 4

HOLIDAY PERIOD

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR THE STATUTORY POSITION As a result of inquiries respecting the approaching Christmas and New Year holidays, an officer of the Department of Labour has supplied information concerning the circumstances which ave arisen on account of Christmas ay and New Year’s Day each falling on a Saturday. “ The Public Holidays Act deals with the change of day for the observance of a holiday only where Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on Sundays, in which case the following Mondays are observed as holidays, with a consequential transfer of Boxing Day to the Tuesday,” the officer stated. “No similar provision' is contained in the Act to meet the case where the holidays concerned fall on Saturdays. Unusual Position 1 “ The position this year is then, that, unless an award or industrial agreement makes specific provision extending the observance of a holiday which occurs on a Saturday or Sunday to the Monday and/or Tuesday respectively, workers will not be entitled to payment in respect of those days, because they fall on days other than ordinary working days. The position is outside the scope of the Public Holidays Act, as Christmas Day will fall on a Saturday and Boxing Day will become merged with Sunday, while New Year’s Day and tha day after (where the latter is prescribed as a holiday by awards or industrial agreements), also occur on a Saturday and Sunday. “ Regarding the closing of shops during the holiday weeks,” the officer continued, “it is clear that as Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall on Saturdays there should be no difficulty regarding the observance of the late night and of the statutory closing

It was stated that in districts where Saturday was the half-holiday, the following conditions prevailed—Where a shopkeeper observes a half-holiday on a day . other than Saturday, pursuant to Section 21 (b) of the Shops and Offices’ Act, 1921-22, he may revert to Saturday half-holiday on giving notice to the department, or, if the shop is closed in New Year week for the whole of two working days, he may keep nis shop open and employ his assistants on his usual half-holiday. The section quoted applies to shops which exclusively carry on one or more of the businesses of a butcher, pork butcher, hairdresser, tobacconist, or photographer, or one or more of such businesses in conjuntion with the business of fishmonger, fruiterer, confectioner, florist, dairy produce seller, newsagent, baker, railway or wharf bookstall keeper, or shops used exclusively for the sale of motor spirit, petrol, or oil.

Mid-week Half-holidays In districts where Wednesday or Thursday is observed as the half-holi-day, notice can be given to the department under Section 14 (2) of the Shops and Offices’ Act to observe the half-holiday on Saturday, or Section 26 (3) of the Act may apply in New Year week. The latter section prescribes that where in any week a shop is closed and no assistants are employed during the whole of any two working days other than the day observed as the statutory closing day. this shall be deemed to be a sufficient compliance with the requirements of the Act relating to the weekly half-holi-day for that week. “It should be noted,” the officer added, ‘‘that if an award or industrial agreement specifically requires the half-holiday to be observed on the day of the usual half-holiday, such provision must be complied with.”