Forty-four Hours Week Act 1925 (NSW)

FORTY-FOUR HOURS WEEK ACT.

Act No. 16, 1925.

A n Act to regula te the hours o f work in cer ta in industr ies , and the paymen t o f over t ime ; to further regula te the making , varying, and amending o f awards and industr ial agree­ ments ; to amend the Indus t r ia l Arb i t ra t ion

A c t , 1 9 1 2 , and cer ta in o ther A c t s ; to repeal

the	E igh t -hou r s	Ac t ,	1 9 1 6 , and	the	E i g h t -
hours	( A m e n d m e n t )	Ac t ,	1922 ;	and	for

purposes	connec t ed the rewi th .	[Assented to,
1 6 t h	D e c e m b e r ,	1925 . ]

lative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South	BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with tin; advice and consent of the Legis­
Wales in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of
the same, as follows :—

P A R T I .

of Australia Constitution Act, and so as not to exceed the

P R E L I M I N A R Y .

1 . (1) This Act may be cited as the "Forty-four Hours Week Act, 1925."

(2) This Act shall come into operation on a day

to be fixed by the Governor and notified by proclamation
published in the Gazette.

(3) This Act shall be read and construed with the Industrial Arbitration Act, 1912, in this Act referred to as the Principal Act, but subject to the Commonwealth

the legislative power of the State to the intent that where any enactment thereof would but for this subsection have been construed as being in excess of that power it shall nevertheless be a valid enactment to the extent to which it is not in excess of that power.

( 4 ) This Act is divided into Parts as follows :—

P A R T I . — P R E L I M I N A R Y , SS. 1 - 5 .

P A R T I I . — H O U R S IN I N D U S T R I E S G E N E R A L L Y ,

88     6 - 1 1 .

P A E T I I I . — S U P P L E M E N T A L PROVISIONS, ss. 1 2 - 1 5 .

2 . The Eight-hours Act, 1 9 1 6 , and the Eight-hours (Amendment) Act, 1 9 2 2 , are hereby repealed.

3 . In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
"Agreemen t " means an industrial agreement and
includes an agreement filed under section
twelve or section forty-one of the Principal

Act.

"Over t ime"	means—
(a)	time worked in excess of the days or hours limited by or under this A c t ; or
(b)	time worked on any day before the fixed or recognised times of starting or after the

fixed or recognised times of leaving off work

on such day in any industry or calling or by any class or shift employed in any industry

or calling.

4 . The Principal Act, and this Act, shall bind the Crown, and be construed as having reference to the

direct and all other employees of the Crown.

This Act shall not apply to the employees referred

to in subsections (a) to (d) inclusive of section 2 4 B of
the Principal Act.

5 .

P A R T

P A R T II.

H O I K S IN I N D U S T R I E S G E N E R A L L Y .

6 .       ( 1 ) The ordinary working hours in all industries

other than coal mining and shipping, with respect to

vessels trading beyond the limits of a port, to which the

Principal Act applies shall be as prescribed in or under this section, and the following directions shall be observed by the court and the boards in making awards, and by the parties in making agreements—

(a) In all industries subject to the provisions of this section, the number of ordinary working hours of an employee shall not exceed—

(1) eight hours during any consecutive

twenty-four hours ; or

( 2 ) forty-four hours per week; or

(3) eighty-eight hours in fourteen con­

secutive days; or

( 4 ) one hundred and thirty-two hours in

twenty-one consecutive days; or

(5) one hundred and seventy-six hours in

twenty-eight consecutive days.

"Where in any industry or calling meal time or crib time is at the commencement of this Act included in the hours of labour by award or agreement, or by well established practice in the industry, such meal time or crib time shall be counted as working time.

Where a working period has been fixed by

an award or agreement before or after the

commencement of this Act, the working period shall not be altered to any of the longer working periods referred to in this section except by agreement or ward made by consent.

Where a short day or days or lesser

working days than six in each week are

adopted by an ward or agreement for a n employee or class of employees, the time worked on any day may be greater than eight

hours

hours per day, in order to allow the above- mentioned hours to be worked during the working period adopted by the award or agreement.

No employee shall be required to work on

more than six out of seven consecutive days

except in an industry which is subject to an

award or agreement providing for shift work, and in which the employee is not required to work more than eleven shifts in twelve con­ secutive days or except in cases of emergency not under the control of the employer.

(b) The working time of an employee in a shift in underground occupations or occupations in which the conditions as to temperature, ventilation, and lighting are similar to those obtaining in underground occupations, shall not exceed six hours if for four hours of the working time of the shift the temperature of the place where the employee is occupied shall have exceeded eighty-one degrees Fahrenheit thermometer using a wet bulb.

For the purposes of this paragraph any number of employees whose regular time for beginning work is approximately the same and whose regular time of terminating work is approximately the same are to be deemed a

shift of employees.

(c) Overtime in any industry maybe permitted by the terms of any award or agreement, and

shall be paid at a rate to be fixed by the court

or the board or by the agreement.

(d) Notwithstanding the terms of any award or agreement from time to time current, the court or board may, by award, or the parties may, by agreement, from time to time, for the purpose of distributing the work available in an industry so as to relieve unemployment or for any other purpose which appears to the court

or board or to the parties in the case of an

agreement, to be good and sufficient, prohibit or restrict to any extent the working of overtime.

(e)

(e) Where in any industry the ordinary time of "work is, at the commencement of this Act, fixed

by award or agreement or by well established

practice in the industry, such time shall not be

exceeded after such commencement in respect

of such industry.

(f) If the court or board is of opinion that the health of the employees in an industry justifies

a reduction of the ordinary working hours in

the industry, the court or board may reduce the ordinary working hours fixed by any award
or agreement at the commencement of this Act or thereafter in force, or may in any

industry reduce the ordinary working hours
prescribed in this section.

(2) The ordinary working hours in any industry may be increased beyond those prescribed in this section

if the court or board is of opinion that in the public

interest such increase shall be allowed.

7 . (1) Every award or agreement in force at the commencement of this Act shall respectively be deemed to incorporate such of the provisions of section six of this Act as relate to the industry in which the conditions

of employment arc regulated by the award or agreement.

(2) Wages fixed by any such award or agreement,

or any award made or agreement entered into after the
commencement of this Act, upon a weekly basis shall not be reduced by reason only of any reduction of the

ordinary working hours by or under this Act.

(3) Where the ordinary working hours in an industry are reduced by or under the provisions of this

Act, the wages specified in any award or agreement as
payable upon a daily or hourly basis shall without any

order of the court or variation or amendment of the

award or agreement be increased to such amounts as
will provide each employee working full time the same

amount of wages as he would have received for working full time under the provisions of the ward

or agreement.

The

The increase in the rate of wages shall take effect—

(a) in a case in which the court or a board

exercises the jurisdiction conferred by para­

graph (f) of subsection one of section six of this Act as from the date of the order of the court or board or as from such future date as

is specified in the order; and

(b) in other cases as from the date of the com­ mencement of this Act.

(4) Any increase in the rate of wages under the last preceding subsection shall be binding and enforce­

able in the same manner as if the same had been made

by an award of the court or a board.

8 . Hates of pay for hours worked as overtime, or in
excess of ordinary working hours in any industry in

respect of which overtime or work in excess of ordinary working hours is not prohibited by or under this Act, shall not be fixed by an award or agreement at less than the rates which were paid in the industry at the commencement of this Act either under award or agreement or by well established practice in the industry.

9 . Application may be made at any time during the currency of an award or agreement whether made or entered into before or after the commencement of this

Act, for such variations or amendments as are necessary
to bring it into conformity with or to give effect to the
provisions of this Act.

1 0 . Any person making a contract or agreement, express or implied, and whether verbally or in writing,

which provides for the working of hours in excess of
those prescribed by or under this Act shall be liable to a

penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, recoverable in a summary way before a stipendiary or police magistrate
or any two justices in petty sessions.

1 1 . Nothing in this Act shall be a defence to an employer or shall exempt him from any liability in any action or other proceeding brought against him

by any person whether an employee or not for the recovery of compensation for injuries or recovery of

wages or for any other purpose.

P A R T

P A R T I I I .

S U P P L E M E N T A L PROVISIONS.

1 2 . Where in any award or order made under any Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia or in any industrial agreement made pursuant to any such Act, for any industry to which the Principal Act applies

other than coal mining and shipping, with respect to

vessels trading beyond the limits of a port, provision is made that the standard or ordinary weekly hours

of work or duty of an employee shall not exceed
a number stated in the award, order, or agreement

greater than forty-four, or where in any such award, order, or agreement expressions of a like significance

occur, then in such a case the standard or ordinary
hours of work or duty of such employee shall not exceed

those prescribed by or under section six of this Act.

1 3 . Where in any award or order made under any
Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Aus­

tralia, or in any industrial agreement made pursuant to any such Act, for any industry to which the Principal Act applies other than coal mining and shipping, with respect to vessels trading beyond the limits of a port a minimum rate of wage at either an hourly, daily, or weekly rate is provided for and the standard or ordinary weekly hours of work or duty of an employee exceed forty-four, then there shall be payable to the employee and paid by the employer in addition to wages at the minimum rate specified in the award, order, or agreement, further wages in accordance

with the following scale : —

(a) for every hour worked up to forty-four in any week at the rate ascertained by the formula —

M H R x SWH-44/44

in which formula MHR represents the mini­ mum hourly rate and SW1I represents the standard working hours prescribed in the award, order, or agreement;

(b) for every hour worked in excess of forty-four in any week up to four, at a rate equal to the

difference

difference be tween t h e m i n i m u m hour ly ra te and any over t ime hour ly ra te provided for in the award, order, or agreement .

W h e r e the award, order, or ag reement specifies a

m i n i m u m daily ra te the m i n i m u m	hour ly	r a t e	shall	he
deduced therefrom by the formula—

MDR X NWD
S W H

in which MDR represents t he m i n i m u m daily ra te ,

N W D the n u m b e r of ordinary work ing days, and S W H the s tandard weekly working hours specified in the award , order, or agreement .

W h e r e the award , order, or ag reemen t specifies a m i n i m u m weekly ra te the m i n i m u m hour ly ra te shall

be deduced therefrom by the fo rmula—

M W R S W H

in which M W R represents t he m i n i m u m weekly ra te , and S W H the s tandard weekly work ing hours specified in t he award , order, or ag reement .

1. Any a m o u n t due to an employee unde r the last

p receding section may be recovered as a debt in any

court of competen t jurisdiction.

15. A n y employer whO refuses to pay to an

employee t h e addi t ional a m o u n t s prescribed in section

t h i r t e e n of th is A c t shall be l iable upon s u m m a r y

convict ion to a pena l ty not exceeding t w e n t y pounds in addi t ion to be ing liable to pay such addi t ional

a m o u n t s . P O L I C E