asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether it has been determined that the receipt of board and lodging or other privileges only, without money payment in return for services rendered, constitutes employment within the meaning of the Unemployment Assistance Acts; whether he will state the statutory authority on which this decision is based, and the date on which instructions conveying this decision were circulated to employment exchanges and branch employment offices.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Definition of Employment.
Section 4 (1) of the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933, provides that:—
A person shall not be deemed to be unemployed within the meaning of this Act—
(a) on any day on which he works for wages or other remuneration whether paid in money or in goods or otherwise howsoever.
It has always been held that an applicant for unemployment assistance who is in receipt of board and lodging without money payment in return for services rendered is not unemployed within the meaning of Section 4 (1) of the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933; and in cases referred to him in accordance with the provisions of the Acts, the umpire has given this interpretation to the section. No special instructions regarding these decisions have been issued.