NO WORK NO PAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8849, 29 August 1907, Page 3

NO WORK NO PAY.

Magistrate's Decision Reversed

An Interesting Point. of exceptional interest to all . . eßptoyers of labour was disposed of py Mr Justice Cooper at Wellington yesterday. It was the appeal of nhitcoiube and Tombs from a judgment "of the Stipendiary Magistrate at Wellington ordering the firm to pay to one Taylor, a bookbinder, wages for holidays upon which no work was done by Taylor. Taylor was engage d in England by the firm on a two years' agreement, at a wage of sixty shillings for forty-eight hours per week. The agreemeut was confirmed and executed wl.ou respondent arrived in Wellington. He was regularly paid liis weekly wage, but deductions at Is 3d per hour were made for holidays kept in appellants' establishment, and upon which respondent did not work. Respondent sued appellants to recover this money, and the Magistrate gave judgment in his favour. The questions raised on appeal were—(l) Does the agreement between the firm and Taylor exclude n _tl\B custom of the trade? and (2) the Jppge under the award being a weekly ifrage, was the employer entitled to deduct from such weekly wage time at the proportionate rate of wages not •worked upon holidays. His Honor found in regard ro the first that if the custom was general and reasonable, it was not necessary that the party bouud should have known of its existence if l-ie dealt in. or the contract was made in, or was to be performed in, the district or country where the custom prevailed. It seemed to His Honor that this custom was not repugnant to the expressed terms of the contract or to a necessary implication from them, ami if the contract was in writing the custom might be added as an implied term to it if it was incidental to its expressed prevision. It had boon found by the Magistrate that "the custom in the trade was not to pay for holidays." That it was a reasonable custom seemed to His Honor beyond question. It was not suggested that the employers were entitled whenever they chose to require those workmen employed on weekly wages to absent themselves from work, but only that jfljnvhen employers" factories were oil recognised holidays the men were not to be paid for time they did not work. His Honor could find nothing in respondents' contract inconsistent with this custom. The award of the Arbitration Court, which was in existence when the agreement was entered into, did not alter the case; there was no provision in the award requiring the employers to pay for time not worked on holidays. The appeal must be allowed. with £5 ."is costs and Court fees, and judgment must be entered in the Magistrate's Court for the appellants.