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50
SHOPS ACT, 1934.
Under date the 27th August, the following Report was submitted to the Public Health
Committee:—
“ The Shops Act, 1934, enacte that in every part of a shop in which persons are employed
about the business of the shop:—
(а) Suitable and sufficient means of ventilation shall be provided and suitable and
sufficient ventilation shall be maintained;
(b) suitable and sufficient means shall be provided to maintain a reasonable temperature
and a reasonable temperature shall be maintained.
Generally speaking the standards to be adopted as regards these two matters will give rise to
little difficulty with one exception, that is as regards the use of heating apparatus which discharges
the products of combustion directly into the air of the shop, such as a flueless gas heater
or an oil stove.
“In a factory or workshop the heating apparatus must not interfere with the purity of the
air in any room in which any person is employed.
Since electric energy is available in almost every part of the borough and affords a hygenic means
of heating where a flue is not available it would appear that the same standard should be applied
generally in a shop as in a factory or workshop.
“The Act also enacts that:—
‘In every shop, not being a shop which is exempted, there shall be provided and maintained
suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences available for the use of persons employed
in or about the shop.
“A shop is exempted if there is in force a certificate exempting the shop, granted by the
Council, and any such certificate remains in force until it is withdrawn by the authority. No
such certificate may be granted unless the Council is satisfied that by reason of restricted accommodation
or other special circumstances affecting the shop it is reasonable that such a certificate
should be in force, and that suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences are otherwise
conveniently available.
“A certificate must be withdrawn if the Council is at any time not satisfied that it should
remain in force.
“There is no right of appeal against the refusal of the Council to issue a certificate, but
there is a right of appeal to the county court against a deoision to withdraw a certificate.
“The question of what is ‘suitable and sufficient’ as regards sanitary conveniences in a
shop, and what is the meaning of ‘ restricted accommodation or other special circumstances
affecting a shop ’ is one of difficulty.
“In factories and workshops there is a statutory requirement that a separate convenience
must be provided for the person or persons of each sex employed or in attendance. This requirement
is rigidly enforced in Paddington and there are also requirements as regards screening of
conveniences and separate approaches. In my opinion any endeavour to enforce this standard
in shops would, for the present, cause great inconvenience to shopkeepers and it is doubtful if
the courts would support such a standard. The following standard has been adopted in Kensington
and is submitted for your consideration:—
‘In shops where members of both sexes are employed, separate sanitary conveniences for
each sex are to be provided if the number of assistants exceeds four, but if the number
is four or less, one sanitary convenience is to be regarded as suitable and sufficient,
provided that the door of such convenience is fitted with a proper lock or fastener on
the internal side and an automatic indicator showing on the external side of the door
whether the apartment is engaged or vacant.
“The other point of difficulty is to decide how far from a shop an outside convenience may
be, in cases where a certificate has been applied for. In other boroughs the distances which are
considered to be the limit vary from 50 to 100 yards. In this connection the possibility of an
assistant being taken suddenly unwell must be considered.
“I would suggest that no certificate of exemption be granted unless the sanitary convenience
provided for a male shop assistant is less than 100 yards from the shop, and that it may be a public
or private convenience. As regards a female shop assistant I would suggest that the maximum
distance be 25 yards and that the convenience be a private one.
"Such standards as you may see fit to adopt would of course only be provisional and be a guide
in dealing with applications for exemption and otherwise.