The question (6 marks)
A printing press employs 120 persons. For the month of June the manager deducts from a compositor, who earns a monthly wage, a fine of one day's wages for spoiling a job, a sum for a torn machine belt said to have been damaged by his carelessness, and a further sum described as a service charge for the canteen. No list of finable acts has been put up in the press, the compositor was not asked for an explanation before either deduction, and the three items together come to about sixty per cent of his wages for the month. He is paid on the fourteenth of July. (a) Advise the compositor on the legality of each deduction and of the date of payment. (b) Before which authority, and within what period, must he move? (6 marks)
MU Module I, problem on deductions and fines; pack ch. 01 §§2–3.
Plan your answer on paper before you look at the authorities — issue first, then the rule, then apply it to these facts.
It tests Unit 1 · Payment of Wages and Minimum Wages of Labour Law and Industrial Relations – II.
Authorities you will need
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, s. 7(1) and s. 7(2)(a)
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, s. 7(3)
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, s. 8(1) to (4)
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, s. 10 and s. 10(1A)
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, s. 11
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, ss. 4(2) and 5(1)
- Payment of Wages Act 1936, s. 15(1)
How an answer is marked
A full-marks answer names the issue in one line, states the rule with its section, cites the authority, applies it to these facts and concludes — in that order. The app's model answer for this question is written in exactly that shape, with a checklist to mark your own attempt against.