HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL)

THE HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL) ACT

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Short title.
2. Public General Holidays.
3. What oRces and places of business to be closed on public

4. Payments, etc., falling due or ta be done on a holiday, when

5 . Construction of law or documents when the times for making a

6. "Next day following" explanation.
I . Power to appoint special holidays.
8. Power to exempt any office or business.
9. Post offices, telegraph offices and wharves.

holidays.

to be made or done.

payment or doing an act ialls on a holiday.

10. Contracts not to observe holidays if general, void.
11. Offences against this Act.
12. Recovery of penalties.
13. Power to amend Schedule.

SCHEDULE

me inclusion of this page is authorized by L.N. 480j19731

HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL) 3

cap. 148.
L.m

38 of 1x0.
7. of 1962.

THE HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL) ACT

127th April, 1895.1

1. This Act may be cited as the Holidays (Public shorttitlr
General) Act.

2. The several days mentioned in the Schedule and such Public
other special day or days as may be appointed under section ~ d i b G d

Schcduc: 7 are hereby declared to be “Public General Holidays”.

3. All courts of justice, public offices, and alI wharves, WbatomDa
public and private (save as is provided in section 9), and all Ofbu-s
banks and their agencies, and the offices and places of fn$,-
business of all solicitors, assurers, insurers, bill discounters, hohdam.
building societies, and all persons licensed to carry on the
business of merchants, general factors, wholesale dealers,
storekeepers, commission agents and retailers who pay
a trade licence on any place of business or class of business
calculated on a gross value of the premises in which the
business is carried on exceeding, in the parish of Kingston
and the Urban and Suburban Districts of the Corporate
Area as defined in the Second Schedule of the Kingston and
St. Andrew Corporation Act, five hundred dollars, or
exceeding, in any other parish or area, two hundred dollars,
and printing and newspaper offices shall be closed through-
out the whole of each Public General Holiday:

Provided that nothing in this section shall in any way
invalidate any rule or regulation made by the Commissioner
of Customs and Excise with the approval of the Minister L N
under the Customs Act for enabling ships to be entered or 954%
cleared. laden or unladen on Public General Holidays:

and pkm

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4 HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL)

Provided also that nothing herein contained shall pre\ent
m y judge on the holding of any court on any day preceding
any Public General Holiday from adjourning such court
to such Public General Holiday, and on such adjournment
being made it shall be lawful for such court to sit on such
Public General Holiday as if this Act had not been passed :

2/1%2
s. 2.

Paymenta,
etc.. falling
due or
to be
done on a
holiday,
when Lo be
made or
done.

Provided further that nothing in this Act shall prevent-

(U) any shop registered as a pharmacy under the pro-
visions of 'the Pharmacy Act' from being open
between the. hours of eight o'clock in the morning
and twelve o'clock midnight; or

(b) any article from being sold in such shop between
those hours,

on a Public General Holiday, and provided further. that
nothing herein contained shall authorize the opening of any
such shop or the sale of any article therein on a Public
General Holiday except during such times as medicines,
drugs and poisons are available for sale therein by or under
the direct supervision of a Pharmacist registered under the
Pharmacy Act.

,

4. Subject to the provisions of the Bills of Exchange
Act, as to bills of exchange and promissory notes, all
bonds, or other money obligations, which are or shall be
made so as to become due and payable on any such Public
General Holiday, shall be payable on the next day following
and not on such PubIic General Holiday, and whenever
any notice is required to be given or any act done whether
under any contract, custom or law, and the same shall fall
to be given or done on a Public General Holiday, the same
shall be given or done on the next day following.

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HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL) 5

5. Whenever by any law, or by any record, specialty Construction
of law or or simple contract,, any payment is required to be made, documents

or act to be done, on a day certain, or within a time limited,
and such day certain, or the last day of such time limited,
shall happen to fall on a Public General Holiday, such law, doinganact
record, specjalty or simple contract: shall be read and con- holiday
strued, and shall take effect and be enforceable only, in the
particular instance. as if such payment or act were thereby
required to be made or done on the next day following such
Public General Holiday;.. and the making of such payment
and the doing. of such act on such next day following, shall
be equivalent to payment of the money or doing of the act
on the holiday.

falls on a

6. For the purpose of this Act, the “next day following” ”Next day
my Public General Holiday shall mean the first day SUC- explanation.
ceedingthe ho1iday;which is neither a Sunday nor a Public

following”

. . General Holiday. ~ . .

7. It shall be lawful for the Minister, from time to time powerto
as he may see fit, by order, to be published in the Gnzetre
not less than seven days before the day or the first of the holidays.
days hereinafter mentioned, to appoint any special day or
days, not exceeding three at any one time, to be observed
as a Public General Holiday,, either throughout the Island
or in any particular parish or part thereof, and the day or
days. so appointed. shall thereupon, for the time being, be
a Public General Holiday, and all the provisions of. this
Act shall apply thereto in precisely the same manner as if
s&h day or days had originally been mentioned in the Schedule
Schedule.

appoint

8. It shall be lawful for the Minister. in like manner, powerto
whenever it shall appear to be expedient, to declare that ~ ~ P ~ ~ Y
any special oflice, business or workshop, which is mentioned huai-.
in. section 3, shall cease to be under the operation of this

[Tne inclisionof this page is authorized by L.N. 41 119871

6

Post officca,
t s h q h
ofices and
WhaNeS.

LN.
93s/86.

cantnc(r
not to
obsuvc
bolidn if

mid
r&e?eraY

OffmCS
against thin
Ad.

HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL)

Act, either generally or for such special or limited purpose
or time as may appear to be expedient, and thereupon this
Act shall cease to operate upon the same accordingly.

9. I t shall be lawful for the Postmaster-General, subject
to the approval of the Minister, to make special arrange-
ments for keeping all or any of the several post offices and
telegraph offices open for such limited portion only of any
Public General Holiday as may appear to be necessary for
the convenience of the public; and it shall also be lawful
for the owner or manager of any wharf to keep open and
carry on his business as such, so far as may be necessary
for the purpose of loading, unloading or coaling any ship
on any Public General Holiday, subject, however, to any
rule or regulation made by the Commissioner of Customs
and Excise, with the approval of the Minister under the
Customs Act, regulating the loading or unloading of ships
on Public General Holidays.

19. Every contract for any service in any office, business
or other place mentioned, included or brought under the
operation of section 3, whereby the person employed under-
takes or agrees generally not to claim or to observe all or
any Public General Holiday (except in the case mentioned
in section 9) shall be absolutely void; but it shall nevertheless
be lawful for any person employed as aforesaid, as well as
for other persons not so employed to make a special agree-
ment on the approach of any Public General Holiday, to
forego his right to any such particular Public General
Holiday, and to continue in service or to enter upon and
perform any duties during the whole or any part of such
particular Public General Holiday.

11. Every person who does anything which is forbidden
by this Act, or wilfully omits, neglects or refuses to do
anything required by this Act to be done by him, shall be

k h c iodusion of this page is annhorized ,by L.N. 4111983

HOLlDAYS (PUBLIC GEiZ'ERAL)

guilty of an offcnce against this Act, and shall be liable
to a penalty not exceeding twenty dollars.

7

12. All penalties under this Act shall be recoverable in Rccnvcryof
penalries. a summary manner.

13.--(1) The Minisler may by order amend the Schedule Powerto
amend
Schedult.
38/1960

or substitute a new Schedule therefor.
(2) E\:ery order made under this srction shall be S.2.

published in the Guzetre at least seven Lays before the
coming into operation of such order.

(3) Every order made mdzr this section shall be
subject to negative resolution of the House of Represent2
tives.

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8 HOLIDAYS (PUBLIC GENERAL)

Schedule. SCHEDULE
(Seciioo$
2 and 7). I . New Year’s Day, or in case New Year’s Day falls on Sunday,

2. Ash Wednesday.

3. Easter Monday.

4. Thc 23rd day of May (or in case the 23rd day of May falls on
Saturday or Sunday, then the following Monday) which shalI
be known as “Nadond Labour Day”.

5. The following days in August, that is to say-

then the day after New Year’s Day.

3811960
s. 3.

L.N.
1911998.

(a) the 1st day of August (or in case the 1st day of August
falls on a Sunday, then the following Monday) which
shall be known as “Emancipation Day”;

(b) the 6th day of August (or in case the 6th day of August
falls on a Sunday, then the following Monday) which shall
be known as “Independence Day”.

L.N.
32911968. 6. The third Monday in the month of October, which shall be

7. The day after Christmas Day, or when Christmas Day falls on

8. A day appoinatcd by the Minister of national observance.

k n o m as “National Heroes’ Day”.

a Sunday. then the 26th and 27th of December.
L.N.
18211967.

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