§ 6. Sir John Mellorasked the Minister of Labour whether, in cases where a person was employed in a factory managed by a company on behalf of a Government department, the agent or the principal is regarded as having been the employer for purposes of reinstatement.
§ Mr. BevinIt is not possible to give a specific answer to the question raised by my hon. Friend as the answer must necessarily depend upon the precise terms of the arrangements made between the company and the Government Department concerned. I may, however, remind my hon. Friend that the reinstatement obligations imposed by the Reinstatement in Civil Employment Bill rest upon the "former employer" as that expression is defined in Clause 7 of the Bill and that questions as to who is the former employer in any particular case will fall to be decided by the Reinstatement Committees and the Umpire under Clause 9.
§ Sir J. MellorWhat will happen to people who joined the Forces from shadow factories?
§ Mr. BevinI think all those questions had better be raised when we get to the Committee stage of the Bill.