[1928] EACA 14
The court held that the Employment of Natives Ordinance requires a personal contract between employer and employee and does not permit an employer to hire out employees to a third party. The native, having come under the orders of the accused, became his employee. There was no evidence of a direct contract for daily...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [1928] EACA 14
- Parties
- Defendant: Laj Patrai; Applicant: Labour Inspector
- Court
- East African Court of Appeal
- Jurisdiction
- Uganda
- Judgment Date
- 1 January 1928
- Case Number
- Revision Case 98/1928.
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal Revision / Revision
- Outcome
- conviction_upheld
- Judges
- Barth CJ, Sheridan, J
- Legal Topics
- Native Registration, Contract of Service, Endorsement of Certificate, Personal Contract, Third Party Hiring
- Source Language
- english
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Laj Patrai
Defendant
Labour Inspector
Applicant
Procedural Posture
Criminal Revision / Revision
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Employment of Natives Ordinance permits an employer to hire out employees to a third party.
- 2 Whether the accused was required to endorse the native's certificate under section 6 of the Native Registration Ordinance.
- 3 Whether there was a valid contract of employment between the accused and the native for more than twenty-four hours.
Ratio Decidendi
The court held that the Employment of Natives Ordinance requires a personal contract between employer and employee and does not permit an employer to hire out employees to a third party. The native, having come under the orders of the accused, became his employee. There was no evidence of a direct contract for daily employment between the accused and the native, and the facts support that the employment exceeded twenty-four hours. Consequently, the accused was obligated to endorse the native's certificate under section 6 of the Native Registration Ordinance. The conviction was upheld as the statutory requirements were not met and the engagement was for more than twenty-four hours.
Court Disposition
conviction_upheld
Orders
- The conviction of the accused is confirmed.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
19 paragraphs
## CRIMINAL REVISION.
Before SIR JACOB BARTH, C. J., and SHERIDAN, J.
LABOUR INSPECTOR
## 1). LAJ PATRAI.
## Revision Case 96/1928.
The Native Registration Ordinance (Cap. 127), section 6endorsement of certificate by employer.
The Employment of Natives Ordinance (Cap. 189)—contract of service.
Held: - That an employee becomes the servant of the person under whose orders he comes.
Further held that the Employment of Natives Ordinance<br>contemplates a personal contract between the employer and<br>employee and does not provide for or sanction an employer hiring out his employees to a third party.
Malik for convict.
Davies for Crown.
ng gara s
SIR JACOB BARTH, C. J.—In this case the record has been sent for by this Court. The accused has been convicted of an offence of a breach of section 6 of the Employment of Natives Ordinance.
The facts as they appear from the record are that the accused agreed to hire from one Alam Khan labourers for Sh. 1/50 each per diem, such sum to be paid to Alam Khan, who had signed on the natives.
The defence was that the natives were not employed for a longer period than twenty-four hours. This defence appears to us to be open to objection on the ground that the daily rate was not paid to the natives but to Alam Khan. There was in fact no contract of hiring between the natives and the accused. Accepting the facts set out in the Magistrate's Judgment as correct it seems that the native was employed by Alam Khan to work on Railway construction. Alam Khan had no workon Railway construction but apparently was ready to hire out this native, and presumably others, to those that had. In my opinion the Employment of Natives Ordinance contemplates a personal contract between the employer and employee and does not provide for or sanction an employer hiring out his employees to a third party. An employee, however, becomes the servant of the person under whose orders he comes. The legal effect of the transaction is therefore that the native ceased to be in
the employment of Alam Khan and became the employee of the accused. There is no evidence of a contract for daily employment between these parties, and I assume that the native was in fact employed for a period of more than twenty-four hours.
The conviction in my opinion is correct on the facts.
SHERIDAN, J.-From the facts of the case it is clear that the accused had the native in his employment without having endorsed his certificate as provided by section 6 of the Native Registration Ordinance. It was contended in the lower Court that the engagement had not been for more than twenty-four hours and that consequently there was no obligation to endorse the fact of the engagement. It was not disputed that there was an engagement nor could it have been. It appears to me to be immaterial whether the accused procured the services of the native directly or through the medium of Alam Khan for the fact is the native was engaged by the accused to work for him. I think it may be assumed from the record that the native was in the employ of accused for a longer period than twenty-four hours and that therefore the engagement was for a longer period than twenty-four hours.
For the above reasons I am of opinion that the accused was rightly convicted.