- (1) If for the purpose of obtaining any benefit or payment, or avoiding any payment, under this Part of this Act, either for himself or for any other person, any person knowingly makes any false statement or false representation, he shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour.
- (2) If any employer or workman has failed to pay any contributions which he is liable under this Part of this Act to pay, or if any employer or workman or any
937 other person refuses or neglects to comply with any of the requirements of this Part of this Act, or the regulations made there-under, he shall for each offence be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, and also, where the offence is failure or neglect to make any contribution under this Part of this Act, to pay to the unemployment fund a sum equal to three times the amount which he has refused or neglected to pay (not exceeding five pounds), which sum, when paid, shall be treated as a payment in satisfaction of the contributions which he has so refused or neglected to pay. - (3) Proceedings under the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Board of Trade, and may be commenced at any time within three months of the date at which the offence comes to the knowledge of the Board of Trade.
- (4) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as preventing the Board of Trade from recovering any sums due to the unemployment fund by means of civil proceedings, and all such sums shall be recoverable in such proceedings as debts due to the Crown.
- (5) If it is found at any time that a person has been in receipt of unemployment benefit under this Part of this Act whilst the statutory conditions were not fulfilled in his case, or whilst he was disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit, he shall be liable to repay to the unemployment fund any sums paid to him in respect of unemployment benefit whilst the statutory conditions were not fulfilled, or whilst he was disqualified for receiving the benefit, and the amount of such sums may be recovered as a debt due to the Crown.
- (6) In any proceedings under this Section, or in any proceedings involving any question as to the payment of contributions under this Part of this Act, or for the recovery of any sums due to the unemployment fund, the decision of the umpire appointed under this Part of this Act on any question arising, whether the trade in which the workman is or has been employed is an insured trade or not shall be conclusive for the purpose of these proceedings, and if no such decision has been obtained and the decision of the question is necessary for the determination of the proceedings the question shall be referred, in accordance with the regulations made under this Part of this Act, to the umpire
938 for the purpose of obtaining such a decision.
§ Amendments made: Leave out the words, in Sub-section (1), "or avoiding any payment."
§ After the first word "person," ["or for any other person"], insert the words "or for the purpose of avoiding any payment to be made by himself under this Part of this Act, or enabling any other person to avoid any such payment."—[Mr. Buxton.]