POLLING DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 82, 4 October 1938, Page 12

POLLING DAY

THE HALF-HOLIDAY

DEPARTMENTAL NOTICE

The law in regard to tfcu observance of the weekly half-holiday on polling I day, under section 128 of the Electoral i Act, 1927, has been circularised by the Labour Department as follows:— "Where the polling day at any election is other than that appointed as the weekly half-holiday under the Shops and Offices Act, 1921-22, the provisions of that Act relating to the weekly half-holiday shall be deemed to refer to the polling day in lieu of j the day so appointed, and it shall not be necessary for any employer to observe the day so appointed in the week in which the polling day falls. "It shall not be necessary for any factory to close during any working hours on the polling day, but the occupier of the factory shall afford to each of his employees a reasonable opportunity of recording his vote, and no deduction shall be made from the wages of any such employee in respect of the time so occupied in recording his vote, provided such time does not exceed one working hour. "Every person who commits an offence against this section is liable to a fine of £5." Factory occupiers are thus required merely to give their employees reasonable time to record their votes, but not exceeding one working hour, without j deduction from their wages. The occupiers of shops must, however, observe the usual weekly halfholiday in election week upon polling day, and in districts with Saturday late night the late night may be observed on Friday. In the case of those shops which are not required to observe a statutory closing day, namely, fishmongers, fruiterers, confectioners, florists, dairy produce sellers, bakers, etc. (vide section 21a of the Act as amended by section 10a of the 1927 I Amendment Act) the assistants must ibe given their half-holiday on polling | day.- ■ •