Divisional Court Cases
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835602000404 |
| Published date | 01 October 1956 |
| Date | 01 October 1956 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Divisional Court Cases
"PERSONS
EMPLOYED"
Massey-Harris-Ferguson (Manufacturing)
Ltd.
v. Piper
THE above case (1956 3 W.L.R. 271) has clarified a question
of some general importance: namely, whether special
regulations made
under
s. 60 of the Factories Act 1937 con-
taining provision for the safety of "persons employed" are made
for the protection of all persons working in
the
factories who-
ever may be their employer or are confined to employees of
the
owner or occupier of the factory.
It
will be remembered
that
in
the
recent case of Stanton Ironworks Co. Ltd. v. Skipper
(195
6
J.CL.
47; 1956IQ.B. ,255) this question was touched
on
and
Ormerod J. expressed
the
opinion obiter
that
such
regulations were probably confined to protection of employees
of the person operating
the
factory.
In
the
present case an information was preferred by a
factory inspector before the Manchester Justices on
the
z
rst
November, 1955 when
the
appellants were charged with a
breach of s. 133 of the Factories Act 1937 in
that
in conse-
quence ofacontravention of reg. Iof
the
Electricity (Factories
Act) Special Regulations 1908 &1944 one
Lyth
had been
killed.
Section 133 of
the
Factories Act 1937 provides
that:
'
"If
any person is killed or dies or suffers any bodily injury
in consequence of
the
occupier or owner of a factory having
contravened any provisions of this Act or of any regulation or
order made thereunder, the occupier or owner of the factory
shall
...
be liable to a fine
not
exceeding
£100."
The
material terms
of
the
Electricity Regulations are:
"Every
switch shall be
...
so worked
...
as to prevent danger
so far as practicable".
"Danger"
is defined by
the
Regulations as meaning
"danger
to health or danger to life or limb from shock or
burn
or other injury to persons employed
...
"
Regulations made prior to
the
Factories Act 1937 are by
s. 159 thereof deemed to have been made thereunder.
3-cL
337
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