§ Mr. CARR-GOMMasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that when men are being taken on for work of a casual and intermittent nature by certain firms only those whose cards are stamped up to date receive employment, and that this has led to the purchase of the Td. stamp by some of the men; and whether, seeing that this state of affairs means that the employers in these cases are avoiding payment and thereby evading their duties under the Act, any instructions can be given by the Commission warning employers of their duty?
§ Mr. MASTERMANAs I stated on the 15th instant, in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Manchester, the Commissioners have no evidence to show that the practice referred to has become at all common. Where, however, a worker has in fact stamped his own card in a particular week the duty of the first person employing the worker in that week is to ratify the stamping as done for himself by paying the value minus the amount he is entitled to deduct when he pays wages.
§ Mr. NIELDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether insured persons, such 1432W as domestic servants, who are paid monthly at the end of the month and whose cards will therefore not be completely stamped until the 31st instant, will be penalised for not returning their cards to their approved society on or before the 26th October, and thereby become deposit contributors: and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of extending the time so as to obviate such hardship.
§ Mr. MASTERMANThe regulations provide that employers should return the workers' cards duly stamped for each week of employment at the end of the quarter, irrespective of the date of payment of wages; but delay in sending in a card would not in any case result in a person who had joined an approved society before 26th October being treated as a deposit contributor.