Combination Act 1799

The Combination Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. 81) titled "An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen", prohibited trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. The act received royal assent on 12 July 1799.

Combination Act 1799

Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen.
Citation	39 Geo. 3. c. 81
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	12 July 1799
Commencement	12 July 1799[a]
Repealed	29 July 1800
Other legislation
Repealed by	Unlawful Combinations of Workmen Act 1800
Relates to	Combinations of Workmen Act 1825
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Unlawful Combinations of Workmen Act 1800
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act to repeal an Act, passed in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen"; and to substitute other provisions in lieu thereof.
Citation	39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 106
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	29 July 1800
Commencement	29 July 1800[b]
Repealed	21 June 1824
Other legislation
Amended by	Combination of Workmen Act 1824
Repealed by	Masters and Workmen Arbitration Act 1824
Relates to	Combinations of Workmen Act 1825
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

An additional act, the Combination Act 1800 (39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 106), was passed the following year.

Background

The 1799 and 1800 acts were passed under the government of William Pitt the Younger as a response to Jacobin activity and the fear of then-Home Secretary the Duke of Portland that workers would strike during a conflict to force the government to accede to their demands. Collectively these acts were known as the Combination Acts.^[1] Under these laws any combination of two or more masters, or two or more workmen, to lower or raise wages, or to increase or diminish the number of hours of work, or quantity of work to be done, was punishable at common law as a misdemeanour.^[2]

Significance

The legislation drove labour organisations underground. Sympathy for the plight of the workers brought repeal of the acts in 1824. Lobbying by the radical tailor Francis Place played a role in this. However, in response to the series of strikes that followed, the Combinations of Workmen Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 129) was passed, which allowed trade unions but severely restricted their activity.

See also

• UK labour law
• Le Chapelier Law 1791, a similar law in France
• The Making of the English Working Class by E. P. Thompson

Notes

1. Section 1.
2. Section 1