I refer to your memorandum of 28th October, 1941 (No. 220/14/18) requesting to know whether an employee who resigns his employment prior to and with a view to volunteering for war service may be regarded as having been ‘employed immediately prior to the date upon which he volunteered for war service’ for the purpose of regulation 3 of the National Security (Reinstatement in Civil Employment) Regulations.

The Regulations seem to assume that there has been some break in the continuity of the employment and that, on completion of war service, the employee is to be ‘reinstated’. The proviso to regulation 3(1) refers to the ‘termination of his previous employment’ without qualification as to the manner in which the employment was terminated.

Accordingly, if, as stated in your memorandum, an employee volunteers immediately after he resigns, I think he may be regarded as having been employed immediately prior to volunteering for service. The facts of each particular case would need to be looked at to see whether the employee enlisted immediately after he resigned, immediately for this purpose meaning, in my view, as soon as practicable after he resigns. Thus if the employee resigns on a Saturday and enlists on the following Monday morning (assuming that the enlistment office is closed on Saturday afternoon and Sunday) then, as Monday is the first available day on which he can volunteer, there would be no break in his employment which would take him out of the scope of regulation 3.

[Vol. 34, p. 374]