Agricultural Wages Act 1948

Supplementary E+W

12 Officers. E+W

(1) The Minister may, subject to the consent of the Treasury as to number, appoint such officers as he thinks necessary for the purpose of investigating complaints and otherwise securing the proper observance of this Act.

(2) Every officer appointed under this section shall be furnished by the Minister with a certificate of his employment, and when acting under or exercising any power conferred upon him by this Act shall, if so required, produce the certificate to any person or persons affected.

(3) An officer so appointed shall have power—

(a) after giving reasonable notice, to require the production of and to inspect and take copies of wages sheets or other records of wages paid to workers employed in agriculture [F1 and records of terms and conditions of employment of such workers.]

(b) to enter at all reasonable times any premises or place for the purpose of such inspection or for the enforcement of this Act, but in the case of a dwelling-house not without giving reasonable notice; and

(c) to require any such worker, or the employer of any such worker, or any agent of the employer, to give any information which it is in his power to give with respect to the employment of the worker or the wages paid to him.

(4) An officer so appointed shall have power, in pursuance of any special or general directions of the Minister, to take proceedings in respect of offences against this Act and may, although not a barrister or solicitor, prosecute or conduct before a court of summary jurisdiction any proceedings arising under this Act.

(5) Where it appears to an officer so appointed—

(a) that a sum is due from an employer to a worker F2 . . . by reason of a direction given under subsection (1) of section eight of this Act by an agricultural wages committee for the payment of an additional sum by way of wages for piece work; or

(b) that a sum is due from an employer on account of the receipt of a premium in contravention of subsection (5) of section six of this Act;

the officer (if he is authorised in that behalf by special or general directions of the Minister) may institute, on behalf of or in the name of the worker, civil proceedings before any competent court of jurisdiction for the recovery of the sum in question, . . . . . . F3

[F4 (5A) Where it appears to an officer so appointed that a term or condition of employment fixed by order of the Board is not being complied with by an employer, the officer (if he is authorised as aforesaid) may institute, on behalf or in the name of the worker, civil proceedings in respect of the failure to comply with the term or condition.

(5B) In any civil proceedings instituted by an officer by virtue of this section the court shall, if the officer is not a party to the proceedings, have the same power to make an order for the payment of costs by the officer as if he were a party to the proceedings.]

[F5 (6) Nothing in subsection (5) or (5A) of this section shall be taken to exclude the bringing otherwise than in accordance with either of those subsection of proceedings of any description mentioned in those subsections.]

(7) If any person—

(a) hinders or molests an officer acting in the exercise of his powers under subsection (3) of this section; or

(b) refuses to produce any document or given any information which an officer so acting lawfully requires him to produce or give; or

(c) produces or causes to be produced or knowingly allows to be produced to an officer so acting any wages sheet, record or other document which is false in a material particular, knowing the document to be false; or

(d) furnishes to an officer so acting any information knowing it to be false,

he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

[F6 (8) The powers conferred by subsections (3) and (4) of this section are not exercisable in any case where corresponding or similar powers conferred by any of the enforcement provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, as they have effect for the purposes of this Act, are exercisable by virtue of section 3A of this Act.

(9) In subsection (8) of this section, “the enforcement provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998” has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 3A of this Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words added by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 9 Pt. II para. 4(1)

F2 Words in s. 12(5)(a) repealed (1.4.1999) by 1998 c. 39, ss. 47(1), 53, Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 7(2), Sch. 3 (with s. 36); S.I. 1999/685, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 3)

F3 Words repealed by Employment Protection act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 18

F4 S. 12(5A)(5B) inserted by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c.71), Sch. 9 Pt. II para. 4(2)

F5 S.12(6) substituted by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 9 Pt. II para. 4(3)

F6 S. 12(8)(9) added (1.4.1999) by 1998 c. 39, s. 47(1), Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 7(3) (with s. 36); S.I. 1999/685, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 12(7) amended by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71, SIF 43:1), s. 97, Sch. 9 Pt. II para. 5 and Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38 (increase of fines) and 46 (substitution of references to levels on the standard scale)

13 Annual reports. E+W

The Minister shall make an annual report to Parliament of his proceedings under this Act and of the proceedings of the Board and of agricultural wages committees, and for that purpose the Board and each committee shall, before such date in every year as the Minister may fix, send to the Minister a report of their proceedings under this Act during the preceding year.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C2 S. 13: Functions of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for Scotland or the Secretary of State for Wales transferred to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (27.12.1999) by S.I. 1999/3141, art. 2(1)(5), Sch. (with art. 3)

14 Expenses. E+W

The expenses of the Minister in carrying this Act into effect and any expenses authorised by the Minister to be incurred by the Board or an agricultural wages committee or sub-committee thereof, in each case up to an amount approved by the Treasury, shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

15 Evidence of resolutions and orders of the Board and agricultural wages committees. E+W

In any legal proceedings the production of a document purporting to be a copy of a resolution or order passed or made by the Board or an agricultural wages committee and to be certified by the chairman or secretary of the Board or committee, as the case may be, to be a true copy shall be sufficient evidence of the order or resolution and, in the case of an order, that any notices required to be given by this Act in relation thereto have been duly given, and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person certifying the truth of the copy.

[15A F7 Information obtained by national minimum wage officers. E+W

(1) This section applies to information which has been obtained by an officer acting for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.

(2) This section does not apply to any information to the extent that the information relates to—

(a) any failure to allow holidays directed to be allowed by an order under section 3 of this Act; or

(b) any terms and conditions of employment fixed by such an order by virtue of subsection (1)(c) of that section.

(3) Information to which this section applies may, with the authority of the Secretary of State, be supplied to the relevant Minister for use for any purpose relating to this Act.

(4) Information supplied under subsection (3) of this section shall not be supplied by the recipient to any other person or body unless—

(a) it could be supplied to that person or body under that subsection; or

(b) it is supplied for the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings relating to this Act;

and shall not be supplied in those circumstances without the authority of the Secretary of State.

(5) This section does not limit the circumstances in which information may be supplied or used apart from this section.

(6) In this section “the relevant Minister” means—

(a) in relation to England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; and

(b) in relation to Wales, the Minister of the Crown with the function of appointing officers under section 12 of this Act in relation to Wales.]

Textual Amendments

F7 S. 15A and crossheading inserted (1.4.1999) by 1998 c. 39, s. 47, Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 8 (with s. 36); S.I. 1999/685, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 3)

16 Power to give effect to, and modify, this Act as respects holidays and holiday remuneration. E+W

(1) The Minister may make regulations for giving effect to the purposes of, and modifying, this Act so far as it relates to holidays and minimum rates of wages by way of pay in respect of holidays, and for excluding, in relation to those matters or either of them, the operation of all or any of the provisions of sections four and ten to thirteen of this Act and paragraph 5 of the Fourth Schedule thereto.

(2) The power conferred by this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C3 S. 16: Functions of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for Scotland or the Secretary of State for Wales transferred to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (27.12.1999) by S.I. 1999/3141, arts. 2(1)(5), Sch. (with art. 3)

17 Interpretation. E+W

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say,—

• “agriculture” includes dairy-farming, the production of any consumable produce which is grown for sale or for consumption or other use for the purposes of a trade or business or of any other undertaking (whether carried on for profit or not), and the use of land as grazing, meadow or pasture land or orchard or osier land or woodland or for market gardens or nursery grounds;

• “consumable produce” means produce grown for consumption or for other use after severance from the land on which it is grown;

• [F8 “county” means a county established by or under the M1 Local Government Act 1972;]

• “employment” means employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship, and the expressions “employed” and “employer” shall be construed accordingly;

• “the Minister” means [F9 the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries [and Food];

• [F10 “the national minimum wage” means the single hourly rate for the time being in force by virtue of regulations under section 1(3) of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, but this definition is subject to subsection (1A) of this section;]

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament;

• “worker” includes a boy, woman and girl.

[F11 (1A) If, in the case of persons of any description, regulations under subsection (2) of section 3 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998—

(a) prevent them being persons who (within the meaning of that Act) qualify for the national minimum wage, or

(b) prescribe a rate (“the reduced rate”) for the national minimum wage other than the single hourly rate for the time being prescribed under section 1(3) of that Act,

this Act shall have effect in relation to persons of that description as if in a case falling within paragraph (a) above the national minimum wage were nil and in a case falling within paragraph (b) above the national minimum wage were the reduced rate.]

(2)—(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F12

Textual Amendments

F8 Definition substituted by S.I. 1974/514, art. 3(1)(a)

F9 Words substituted by virtue of S.I. 1955/554 (1955 I, p. 1200), art. 3

F10 Definition of “the national minimum wage” inserted (1.4.1999) by 1998 c. 39, s. 47, Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 9(2) (with s. 36); S.I. 1999/685, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 3)

F11 S. 17(1A) inserted (1.4.1999) by 1998 c. 39, s. 47, Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 9(3) (with s. 36); S.I. 1999/685, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 3)

F12 S. 17(2)–(4) repealed by S.I. 1974/514, art. 3(1)(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 1972 c. 70.

[17A F13 Relationship between this Act and the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. E+W

(1) Except so far as expressly provided by this Act, nothing in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 or in regulations made under that Act affects the operation of this Act.

(2) This Act is subject to—

(a) section 46 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998; and

(b) section 47 of that Act and any regulations made under that section.]

Textual Amendments

F13 S. 17A inserted (1.4.1999) by 1998 c. 39, s. 47, Sch. 2 Pt. I para. 10 (with s. 36); S.I. 1999/685, art. 2, Sch. (with art. 3)

[F14 18 London. E+W

Such portions of Greater London as the Minister may by order made by statutory instrument define shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be included in such counties as may be specified in the order.]

Textual Amendments

F14 S. 18 substituted by S. I. 1965/654, art. 3(12)

19 Isles of Scilly. E+W

For the purposes of this Act, the Isles of Scilly shall be deemed to be a county.

20 Repeal and savings. E+W

(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F15

(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect any order, regulation or complaint made, permit granted, resolution passed, direction, certificate or approval given, application made or granted, notice served or given, date fixed or any other thing done, under an enactment repealed by this Act, but any such order, regulation, complaint, permit, resolution, direction, certificate, approval, application, notice, date or thing shall, if in force at the passing of this Act, continue in force, and so far as it could have been made, granted, passed, given, served, fixed or done under the corresponding provision of this Act, it shall have effect as if it had been made, granted, passed, given, served, fixed or done under that corresponding provision and, in the case of an approval, had been given for the purposes of that provision.

(3) Any document referring to an enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as referring to the corresponding provision of this Act.

F16 (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F16 (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F16 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) The mention of particular matters in this section shall not be taken to affect the general application of [F17 sections 16(1) and 17(2)(a) of the M2 Interpretation Act 1978,] with regard to the effect of repeals.

Textual Amendments

F15 S. 20(1), Sch. 5 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1950 (c. 6)

F16 S. 20(4)-(6) repealed (22.7.2004) by Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2004 (c. 14), Sch. 1 Pt. 2 Group 2

F17 Words substituted by virtue of Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30), s. 25(2)

Marginal Citations

M2 1978 c. 30.

21 Short title and extent. E+W

(1) This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Wages Act 1948.

(2) This Act shall not extend to Scotland or to Northern Ireland.