And not just at that time. A builder in Ireland was building a hotel in the middle of nowhere so he built accomodation for the workers nearby. He also built a pub across the road. Could drink freely during the week.
At the end of the week deductions were taken from the wages for accommodation and hire of tools plus wear and tear to the tools used. The rest of the wages was taken as what you owed to the pub.
When I was a tad younger, crossing "the county bounds" to Kerry from university in Cork I'd pass this half built hotel up the mountain. Never completed. I live in hope that that was it.
Hansard 1854:
"In the year 1831 a special Act of Parliament was passed, popularly known as Littelton's Act, for the purpose of enforcing the payment of wages in money".
The discussion suggests it wasn't very successful. Goes on to list the various methods used to get round it.
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1854/feb/16/payment-of-wages#S3V0130P0_18540216_HOC_17
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on August 30, 2024, 10:32 am, in reply to "