The Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act 1919 was a British

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

passed on 2 June 1919, which gave soldiers returning from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

their pre-war jobs back. The Restoration of Pre-War Practices (no. 3) Bill (UK) had its second reading in Parliament on 2 June 1919. The

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, Sir Robert Horne described it as "designed to ensure to the

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

of the country the right to have restored certain trade union customs and practices which they gave up during the War in order to bring about the greatest possible production of war material." One of the consequences of the Act was that women were no longer eligible to work in many of the roles they were employed to fill during the war. By 1920, a million fewer women were in employment. The act caused over 25 percent of working women to return from factories to domestic service as they were dismissed to make way for returning soldiers, whilst others established societies to support women to stay in the careers they had entered during the war. The Act gave employers up to two months to return to pre-war practices and then required them to be maintained for at least a year. The removal of women from employment combined with the economic downturn of late 1920 reinforced employer and trade union hostility to their return.Wrigley, Chris (ed) (2008), ''A Companion to Early Twentieth Century Britain'', John Wiley & Sons, London, p.509

References

United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1919 1919 in law Women in the United Kingdom {{UK-statute-stub

See also

References