HL Deb 03 August 1897 vol 52 cc211-4

Commons Amendments to Lords Amendments and Commons consequential Amendment, and Commons reasons for disagreeing to certain of the Lords Amendments considered (according to Order).

Lords Amendment:—

Clause 1, leave out Sub-section (4) and insert: (4.) If within the time hereinafter in this Act limited for taking proceedings an action is brought to recover damages independently of this Act for injury caused by any accident, and it is determined in such action that the injury is one for which the employer is not liable in such action, but that he would have been liable to pay compensation under the provisions of this Act, the action shall be dismissed; but the Judge, if he shall think fit, may himself proceed to assess such compensation, and shall be at liberty to deduct from such compensation all the costs which, in his judgment, have been caused by the plaintiff bringing the action instead of proceeding under this Act. In any proceeding under this sub-section, when the Judge assesses the compensation he shall give a certificate of the compensation he has awarded and the directions he has given as to the deduction for costs, and such certificate shall have the force and effect of an award under this Act.

Commons Amendments: Leave out from "Judge" to "proceed," and insert "Court in which the action is tried shall."

LORD BELPER moved to agree with the Commons Amendment.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

said he had an Amendment to move to the Amendment. By some error, he could not help thinking, the effect of the Amendment as it stood would, by a side-wind, be to deprive the plaintiff of his right of appeal if the learned Judges decided against him. He therefore proposed to move to leave out from the second "the" in line 7 to "proceed" in line 8, and, after the words "Court in which the action is tried shall," to insert the words "if the plaintiff shall so choose." The effect of that would be to restore what their Lordships had suggested. The Commons Amendment would have, unfortunately, left out any determination of the action at all. The result would be that the plaintiff would have no right of appeal, because the action would be left in suspense. He could not help thinking that those who suggested this Amendment did not contemplate that possibility.

Amendment, as amended, agreed to.

Commons Amendments: Leave out "his" and insert "its"; leave out "Judge" and insert "Court"; leave out "he" and insert "it," and leave out the second "he" and insert "it"; leave out "he" and insert "it."

LORD BELPER moved that these Amendments be agreed to.

Amendments agreed to.

Clause 3,—

  1. (1.) If the Registrar of Friendly Societies, after taking steps to ascertain the views of the employers and workmen, certifies that and scheme of compensation or insurance for the workmen of an employer in any employment is, on the whole, not less favourable to the workmen and their dependants than the provisions of this Act, the employer may, until the certificate is revoked, contract with any of those workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall be substituted for the provisions of this Act, and thereupon the employer shall be liable only in accordance with the scheme, but, save as aforesaid, this Act shall apply, not with standing any contract to the contrary made after the commencement of this Act. The Registrar may give a certificate to expire at the end of a limited period not less than five years.
  2. (2.) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a condition of their hiring.
  3. (3.) If the funds under any such scheme are not sufficient to meet the compensation payable under the scheme the employer shall be liable to make good the amount of compensation which would be payable under this Act.
  4. (4.) If complaint is made to the Registrar of Friendly Societies by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer that the provisions of any scheme are no longer on the whole so favourable to the workmen of such employer and their dependants as the provisions of this Act or that the provisions of such scheme are being violated, or that the scheme is not being fairly administered by the employer, or that satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the certificate, the Registrar shall examine into the complaint, and, if satisfied that good cause exists for such complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is removed, revoke the certificate, whereupon the funds of the scheme shall be distributed as may be arranged between the employer and workmen, or as may be determined by the Registrar of Friendly Societies in the event of a difference of opinion.
    5. 213
  5. (5.) Whenever a scheme has been certified as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all such inquiries and to furnish all such accounts in regard to the scheme as may be made or required by the Registrar of Friendly Societies.
  6. (6.) The Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies shall include in his annual report the particulars of the proceedings of the Registrar under this Act.

Lords Amendment: Leave out "of an employer." Commons Reason.—The Commons disagree to this Amendment for the following reason: Because the omission of the words "by the employer" would unduly widen the scope of the clause.

LORD BELPER moved to agree with the Commons.

Motion agreed to.

Lords Amendment: After "whole" insert "under all the circumstances of the case." Commons Reason.—The Commons disagree to this Amendment for the following reason: Because the words "under all the circumstances of the case" would not substantially alter the meaning of the clause, or might introduce matters which the Registrar should not consider.

Commons consequential Amendment.—But they propose as a consequential Amendment in line 31 to insert after "employment" the words "whether or not such, scheme includes other employers and their workmen."

LORD BELPER moved to agree with the Commons Amendment. The other House did not appear to think that these words would widen the scope of the clause, and that they might possibly introduce some matters which were not intended.

Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment: In Sub-section (10), first schedule, after "employer" insert "or by any person by whom he is entitled to be indemnified." Commons Amendment: Leave out "he is entitled" and insert "the employer is entitled under this Act."

LORD BELPER

said this was a mere drafting Amendment, and he moved that it be agreed to.

Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment: Second schedule, after "accordingly" insert: and rules of court may be made both for any purpose for which this Act authorises rules of court to be made, and also generally for carrying into effect this Act so far as it affects the County Court or an arbitrator appointed by the Judge of the County Court, and proceedings in the County Court or before any such arbitrator, and such rules may be made by the five Judges of the County Courts appointed for the making of rules under Section one hundred and sixty-four of the County Court Act 1888, and when allowed by the Lord Chancellor, as provided by that section, shall have full effect without any further consent.

Commons Amendment: After "may" insert "in England."

Amendment agreed to.

LORD BELPER moved to agree to the first of the Commons Amendments to Sub-section (4) of Clause 1 which was inserted by their Lordships, and which made certain provisions for the assessment of compensation in the case of an action wrongly brought independently of the Act in regard to an injury for which the employer would have been liable to pay compensation under the provisions of the Act.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

said he desired to move an Amendment to the Commons Amendment. The effect of the Commons Amendment as it stood was to deprive the plaintiff of his right of appeal if the Judge of the Court in which the action was tried decided against him. He could not help thinking that this was due to some error, to some misapprehension, and was not intended by those who suggested the Amendment to their Lordships' sub-section. He therefore moved to amend the Amendment so as to grant a right of appeal "if the plaintiff shall so choose."

Commons' Amendment as thus amended agreed to; remaining Commons Amendments agreed to.