Section 31

any employee to whom wages are due as aforesaid;

any employee to whom wages are due by such contractor for labour as aforesaid;

any contractor for labour to whom money is owed on account of the sub-contract by the contractor for labour as aforesaid, was employed or worked at the time when such wages were earned or such money accrued due, and to the proceeds of the sale of any products of such place of employment and of any movable property therein used in connection with such employment and to any money due to the person liable on account of work performed by such employee or contractor for labour or derived from the sale of the products of such work:

Provided further that—

where the person liable is an employer the total amount of the wages of any employee to which priority over the claim of a secured creditor is given by this section shall not exceed the amount due by the employer to the employee as wages for any four consecutive months’ work;

where the person liable is a principal and where the wages are claimed from such principal under section 33 the total amount of the wages of any employees to which priority over the claim of a secured creditor is given by this section shall not exceed the amount due by the principal to the contractor at the date of the sale, attachment or garnishment unless the contractor is also a contractor for labour;

where the person liable is a contractor or sub-contractor who owes money to a contractor for labour the total amount due to such contractor for labour to which priority over the claim of a secured creditor is given by this section shall not exceed the amount due by such contractor for labour to his employees (including any further contractor for labour under such first-mentioned contractor for labour)

for any four consecutive months’ work.

WJW23/0686 Act 265.indd 38 04/10/2023 5:25 PM

Employment 39

In this section, except for the second proviso, “wages”

includes termination and lay-off benefits, annual leave pay, sick leave pay, public holiday pay and maternity allowance.

Reference by the court to Director General