Summary / Citation: Offences:
(1) "In the event of the contravention of any obligation created under any provision of this Division or of any regulation or order issued thereunder, by any person upon whom the obligation is imposed, whether the operator of a workplace or a person employed therein, said operator or person shall be guilty of an offence."
(2) "If such contravention be by an employed person, the operator of the workplace shall also be guilty of an offence if it is proved that he failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the contravention."
(3) "If the operator of a workplace avails himself of any exemption allowed under this Division or any order or regulations issued thereunder, he shall be deemed to have contravened the provisions of this Division if he fails to comply with any of said conditions contained therein."
(4) "Where an offence committed by the operator of a workplace under this Division or any order or regulations issued thereunder is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of any director, chairman, other officer, manager or person other than the operator, he, as well as the operator, shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly."
(5) "If a young person is employed in any workplace in contravention of the provisions of this Division or any order or regulations issued thereunder, the parent of the young person shall be guilty of an offence, unless the contravention occurred without the consent, connivance, or wilful default of the parent."
(Art. D21)
Multiple or continuing offences:
(1) "If any persons are employed in a workplace other than in accordance with this Division, or any regulation or order thereunder, there shall be deemed to be a separate contravention in respect of each person so employed."
(2) "It is hereby declared that where the contravention of any provision of this Division or any regulation or order thereunder is a continuing offence:
(a) the recommencement of such offence after any interval constitutes a fresh offence; and
(b) a prosecution may be instituted, and the person accused may be convicted and sentenced, from time to time, in relation to any portion of the period during which the offence continues to be committed:
Provided, however that such portion shall not be a portion of the period for which the accused has been previously convicted and sentenced for the same offence."
(Art. D22)
Penalties for specific offences:
(1) "A failure to comply with section D9 is an offence for which the non-complying person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of seventy-five dollars, or thirty dollars for each day since the expiration of the month stipulated therein, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for two months."
(2) "If a parent of a young person shall be guilty of an offence under section D21 (5), he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of seventy-five dollars."
(3) "If any person:
(a) forges or counterfeits any certificate required by, under, or for the purposes of this Division or any regulation or order thereunder;
(b) gives or signs any such certificate knowing it to be false in any material particular;
(c) knowingly utters or makes use of such certificate so forged; counterfeited, or false as aforesaid;
(d) knowingly utters or makes use of such certificate as applying to any person to which it does not so apply;
(e) personates any person named in such certificate;
(f) falsely pretends to be an inspector;
(g) wilfully connives in any such forging, counterfeiting, giving, signing, uttering, making use, personating, or pretending as aforesaid;
(h) wilfully makes a false entry in any register, notice, certificate, or document required by, under, or for the purposes of this Division or any regulation or order thereunder to be kept or served or sent;
(i) wilfully makes or signs a false declaration required by, under, or for the purposes of this Division or any regulation or order thereunder; or
(j) knowingly makes use of any such false entry or declaration as aforesaid, he shall, without prejudice to any other penalty, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of fifteen hundred dollars, or to imprisonment for one year."
(4) "The operator of any workplace or any person therein who:
- obstructs or delays an inspector in the due exercise of any power conferred on him by or under this Division;
- refuses to answer or falsely answers, any inquiry authorized by or under this Division;
- fails to produce any register, book, document or other record he is required by or under this Division to produce; or
- conceals or prevents, or attempts to conceal or prevent, any person from appearing before or being examined by an inspector,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of seventy-five dollars or to imprisonment for three months; and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction under this section within two years from the last conviction for a previous offence under this section to a fine of one hundred and fifty dollars or to imprisonment for six months."
(5) "If any person suffers bodily injury or is killed, or dies, in consequence of the operator of the workplace having contravened any provision of this Division or any regulation or order thereunder, the operator shall on summary conviction, without prejudice to any other penalty, be liable to a fine of fifteen hundred dollars, and the whole or part of the fine may be applied for the benefit of the injured person or of the family of the deceased person, or otherwise, as the Court determines:
Provided that:
(a) in the case of injury to health, the operator shall not be liable to a fine under this subsection unless the injury was caused directly by the contravention; and
(b) the operator shall not be liable to a fine under this subsection if proceedings against him under this Division in respect of the act or default by which the injury was caused, have taken place and been dismissed before death as a result of the injury occurred."
(Art. D23)
Penalties for offences for which no express penalty provided:
"Subject as hereinafter in this Division any person guilty of an offence for which no express penalty is provided shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of three hundred dollars; and if the contravention in respect of which he was so convicted is continued after the conviction he shall (subject to the provisions of section D25) be guilty of a further offence and liable on summary conviction in respect thereof to a fine of thirty dollars for each day on which the contravention is so continued."
(Art. D24)
Power to issue regulations includes power to prescribe penalties for contraventions thereunder:
"The power to make regulations under this Division includes the power to prescribe for offences against such regulations such penalty not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars for each offence and, in the case of a continuance of any such offence, a further penalty not exceeding fifteen dollars for each day that such offence shall continue after service of written notice thereof; and in default of payment of such penalties, imprisonment for three months."
(Art. D25)
Power of court to order cause of contravention to be remedied:
"Where the operator of a workplace is convicted of an offence under this Division the Court may, in addition or instead of inflicting a fine, order him, within the time specified in the order, to take such steps as may be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which the contravention occurred, and may, on application, enlarge the time so specified; and where such an order is made, the operator shall not be liable under this Division in respect of a continuation of the contravention during the time allowed by the court; but if, after the expiration of the time as originally specified or enlarged by subsequent orders, the order is not complied with, the operator shall be liable (in addition to the penalty above prescribed for the offence) on summary conviction to a fine of thirty dollars for each day on which non-compliance continues."
(Art. D26)
Penalties for persons actually committing offence for which operator is liable:
"Where an act or default for which the operator of a workplace is liable is in fact the act or default of some agent, servant, worker, or other person, that agent, servant, worker or other person shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine as if he were the operator."
(Art. D27)
Proceedings where inspector or operator believes the offender to be other than operator:
(1) "When it is made to appear to an inspector at the time of discovering an offence:
(a) that an operator of the workplace has used all due diligence to enforce the execution of this Division;
(b) that the offence has been committed by a person other than the operator; and
(c) that it has been committed without the consent, connivance, or wilful fault of the operator, the inspector shall proceed against the person whom he believes to be the actual offender without first proceeding against the operator."
(2) "In proceedings brought against the operator, the operator shall be entitled upon information duly laid by him and on giving the prosecution no less than three day's notice in writing of his intention, to have any other person whom he charges as the actual offender brought before the court at the time appointed for hearing the charge. Thereupon, if the commission of the offence be established, the operator may seek to prove:
(a) that he used all due diligence to enforce the execution of this Division and of any relevant regulation and order issued thereunder; and
(b) that the said other person had committed that offence in question without his consent, connivance, or wilful default, in which case the person thus charged may cross-examine the operator if he testifies and any other witness called by him, and he may introduce rebutting evidence; and the prosecution may cross-examine witnesses brought on behalf of either the operator or the other person and may itself introduce evidence."
(3) "If, thereupon, the allegations noted in subsection 2 (a) and (b) hereinabove be proved to the satisfaction of the Court, the other person shall be summarily convicted of the offence; and the person so convicted shall, in the discretion of the Court, be also liable to pay any costs incidental to the proceedings."
(4) "Where, under this Division any person is substituted for the operator with respect to any provision of this Division, any order, summons, notice, or proceedings, which for the purpose of any of these provisions is by or under this Division required or authorized to be served on or taken in relation to the operator, is hereby required or authorized to be served on or taken in relation to that person."
(Art. D28)
Prosecution of offences and recovery and applications of fines:
(1)"In any proceedings under this Division it shall be sufficient in the information, which shall be laid by or on behalf of the Labour Commissioner, to allege that the workplace is a workplace within the meaning of this Division and to state the name of the ostensible operator thereof."
(2) "Where, with respect to and in consequence of any accident in a workplace, a report is made by an authority appointed to hold a formal investigation under any law, or a coroner's inquest is held, and it appears from said report or from the proceedings at said inquest that any of the provisions of this Division or any regulations or orders thereunder were not complied with at or before the time of the accident, summary proceedings against any person liable to be proceeded against in respect of such non-compliance may be commenced at any time within three months after the making of the report or the conclusion of the inquest as the case may be."
(3) "Where any offence is committed under this Division by reason of a failure to make an examination, enter a report or do any other thing, at or within a time specified by this Division or by any regulation or order thereunder, the offence shall be deemed to continue until the examination is made, or a report entered, or the other thing done, as the case may be."
(Art. D29)
(3) "Any such person who refuses or wilfully neglects to furnish such means shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.
(4) Any person who assaults, hinders or obstructs the Labour Commissioner acting in the execution of his duty under this section shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months with or without hard labour.
(5) Any employer who, without good and sufficient cause, fails, on being required so to do, to furnish to the Labour Commissioner any of the information or any returns specified in subsection (1), shall be liable on a summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars.
(6) Any employer who knowingly furnishes or allows to be furnished to the Labour Commissioner any information or return which is false in any material particular, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding three thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
(7) Any person who having been summoned to attend an enquiry under the provisions of paragraph (f) of subsection (I), refuses, or without lawful excuse neglects, to attend at any place or time at which his attendance is required, shall be guilty of an offence and upon summary conviction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months."
(Art. 6 Labour Commissioner Act)
Penalty for disobedience:
(1) "Any person who:
(a) without sufficient cause, fails or refuses to attend at an enquiry in obedience to a summons issued under paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 6, or fails or refuses to produce any paper, book, record or document which he was required by such summons to produce; or
(b) being a witness, leaves an enquiry without the permission of the Labour Commissioner; or
(c) being a witness, refuses without sufficient cause, to answer any question put to him by or with the permission of the Labour Commissioner; or
(d) wilfully obstructs or interrupts the proceedings of an enquiry,
shall be liable on summary conviction before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars or in default of payment thereof to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months."
(2) "A person shall not be convicted for failing or refusing to attend at an enquiry unless the summons requiring him so to attend has been served on him at least seven days before the day on which he is required to attend."
(Art. 9 Labour Commissioner Act)
• Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code (No. 14 of 1975) (Cap. 27). (Art. D)
• Labour Commissioner (Amendment) Ordinance, 1967 (No. 17). (Arts. 6 and 9)
Related CEACR Comments
• Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) Observation 2018
• Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) Direct Request 2018
