The Settlement Act 1662
The 1662 Settlement act was based on the practice
of returning paupers to the parish of their residence or birth. Residence
of a year and a day was required for a person to qualify for relief.
If a labourer moved away from his parish of origin in search of work
the JPs issued him with a
‘Certificate of settlement’ saying that
if the man fell on hard times his own parish would receive him back
A person had to have a 'settlement' e.g. ‘Belong to a parish’ to
obtain relief from that parish.
Some of the ways a ‘settlement’ could
be secured were:
-
Birth in the parish
Marriage (in the case of a woman)
Working in the parish for a year and a day
Prevented men from leaving overpopulated parishes in search of work on the 'off-chance' of finding employment
Led to short contracts of, for example, 364 days or 51 weeks.
A man might lodge in a parish for 25 years, working on short contracts, and still not be eligible for poor relief later in life.