§ 49. Mr. BIRDasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will issue instructions that prosecutions are not to be instituted against employers who had permitted workmen to start without their unemployment books, in cases where these workmen had been unable to obtain the books from Labour Exchanges, owing to no fault of their own?
Mr. ROBERTSONUnder the Unemployment Insurance Regulations an employer is not obliged to obtain an unemployment book from a workman in an insured trade before engaging him, but only "as soon as may be after the date of engagement." I would point out, however, that in case of necessity a temporary unemployment book may be immediately obtained by a workman from any Labour Exchange or local office of the Unemployment Fund on demand, and if the workman fails to produce to the employer either a regular or a temporary unemployment book the employer can himself obtain an emergency book from any Labour Exchange or other local office on giving the name and occupation of the workman. I need hardly say that no prosectuion will be instituted in cases where the failure to obtain a book is not due to the default of either employer or workman.