AGRICULTURAL WORKERS (WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAYS) ACT, 1951

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ALLOWANCE OF WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAYS TO AGRICULTURAL WORKERS AND FOR CERTAIN MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH. [3rd July, 1951.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

“agricultural worker” means a person employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship whose work under such contract is or includes work in agriculture, but does not include a person whose work under such contract is mainly domestic;

“agricultural employer” means a person who carries on the trade or business of agriculture and who employs other persons as agricultural workers for the purposes of such trade or business;

“agriculture” includes dairy-farming and the use of land as grazing, meadow, or pasture land or orchard or osier land or wood-land or for market gardens or nursery grounds.

2 Weekly half-holidays.

2.—(1) An agricultural employer shall allow within a period of two weeks to an agricultural worker who is employed by him on a contract for a period of not less than one week one half-holiday in respect of each week so worked.

• (2) An agricultural employer who is required under subsection (1) of this section to allow a weekly half-holiday to an agricultural worker shall be required to pay to the worker in respect of such half-holiday—

• (a) a sum not less than one-twelfth of the amount of the weekly wage where the worker is paid a weekly rate of wages, or

• (b) a sum not less than that payable for a period of four hours where the worker is paid an hourly rate of wages, or

• (c) in any other case a sum not less than the equivalent of one-half of a day's wages at the ordinary rate at which the worker is paid.

• (3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (6) of this section an agricultural employer shall be deemed to have allowed a half-holiday on any day on which the agricultural worker is not required to work after one o'clock p.m.

• (4) Where a worker instead of taking the half-holiday which he is to be allowed under this section, remains at work with his employer's consent or enters into an agreement with his employer that during any specified period he will remain at work instead of taking the half-holiday the employer shall be deemed to have allowed the half-holiday to the worker if he pays him in addition to wages the half-holiday remuneration provided by subsection (2) of this section.

• (5) If an agricultural employer fails to allow a half-holiday to an agricultural worker or pay him in respect of a half-holiday in accordance with this section he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

• (6) The day in the week (other than Sunday) on which the half-holiday is allowed under subsection (1) of this section shall be fixed by agreement between the agricultural employer and the worker for each period of three months, but in the absence of any such agreement it shall be open to the employer to fix in advance in respect of a period of three months the week-day on which the half-holiday is to be taken.

3 Non-allowance of weekly half-holiday in certain cases.

3.—(1) Where a worker in any working week has been allowed by an agricultural employer a whole holiday on any public holiday or Church holiday falling within the week such worker shall not be entitled to claim a half-holiday under the immediately preceding section in respect of that week.

• (2) For the purposes of this section a public holiday or a Church holiday shall be any one of the days which is so defined in section 8 of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1939.

4 Extension of power of Agricultural Wages Board.

4.—The power conferred on the Agricultural Wages Board by section 17 of the Agricultural Wages Act, 1936 (No. 53 of 1936) to make orders fixing the minimum rates of wages shall extend to the making of orders fixing minimum rates of half-holiday remuneration and the provision of that Act relating to orders under that section shall apply accordingly.

5 Report of proceedings of Agricultural Wages Board under this Act.

5.—The annual report which the Agricultural Wages Board are required to make to the Minister for Agriculture under section 21 of the Agricultural Wages Act, 1936, shall include a report of their proceedings under this Act.

6 Short title.

6.—This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Workers (Weekly Half-Holidays) Act, 1951.