THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWNMy Lords, I rise to ask His Majesty's Government whether their attention has been drawn to a case recently decided at the Lincoln County Court in which a farmer was held liable to pay full wages during a period when a farm labourer on yearly agreement was incapacitated for work and was receiving sickness benefit under the Insurance Act; and whether His Majesty's Government are aware that the Judge before whom the case was tried is reported to have expressed a strong hope that this serious blot in the Act might be deleted by Parliament in the amending Bill now under consideration; and whether the Bill at present before the House to amend the Insurance Act makes any provision for meeting such cases, and, if not, whether His Majesty's Government will propose a clause for that purpose.
§ LORD STRACHIEMy Lords, in reply to the noble Earl's Question, I have to say that it is the custom in some of the northern counties for certain classes of agricultural labourers to be engaged for periods of from six to twelve months. In most cases these men "live in," and the farmer is bound under the terms of his contract to pay wages and maintain them whether they are ill or well. Such men are known usually as "confined men." When these men are ill and drawing sickness benefit they are financially better off than when they are well. It has been argued that as the men are provided for under the terms of their contract they should for the time being be exempt from insurance while the contract lasts, or that as an alternative sickness benefit should be paid to the farmer who loses the services of the man while he is ill although he is bound to continue to pay wages, instead of to the man who loses no remuneration by being ill.
Special provision has been made in Section 47 of the principal Act to meet these cases. This section provides that, in the case of a person engaged for not less than six months certain, where the employer is liable to pay full remuneration for any period of disease or disablement lasting not more than six weeks, the rate of contribution is reduced from 7d. to 5d., the employer's share being 2d. and the man's share 3d. There is no reason why all employers of "confined men" should not take advantage of this section. They 1899 are not incurring any additional liability which is not already imposed upon them by their contract with the men. It is true that there will be a small residuum of cases of sickness lasting more than six weeks, but if the sickness benefit was then paid by the employer he would really be better off than he was prior to the Act; and in any case it must be remembered that the cash wages paid to these "confined men" are small, and prolonged sickness is certain to bring with it the need for extra nourishment which the farmer could not be called upon to provide under the provisions of his contract. The alternative suggestion that these "confined men" should be exempted from insurance altogether cannot be accepted. It would deprive the men of all the other benefits of the Act, and would penalise them whenever they ceased to be employed under these conditions and wished to enter insurance.
§ LORD STRACHIENo.
THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWNThen the result is this, that when one of these men is sick he is paid double insurance. He is paid his wages because the farmer is held by his contract, and at the same time he receives the insurance benefit under the Act, and thereby, as the noble Lord has said, when he is sick he is better off than when he is well.
§ House adjourned at Seven o'clock, till To-morrow, a quarter past Three o'clock.