COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER.—There is not any law especially appli cable to commercial travellers as a class, the nature of their employment bring ing them within the general law relating to MASTER AND SERVANT (q.v.). As, however, a commercial traveller may be employed by several distinct persons, frequently receives his remuneration either wholly or in part in the form of a commission, and appears to arrange the detail of his employment with very little reference to his principals, there has apparently arisen an idea that the traveller is on a somewhat different footing to an ordinary employee. But this is not the case. Even where a commercial traveller is only paid a commission by his employer, and is at to receive orders for others, he is still the servant of the employer. The independent occupation most similar to that of a traveller is a commission agent, and it is often a nice point to determine to which class a person may belong. If there is an agreement in writing, which there shotid always be if the employment is intended to be for a year or more certain, the Court will look to that for the terms of the employment, but will always take into consideration any custom of the particular trade which may be established. The chief point to decide will be whether the relationship of master and servant really in fact exists—whether the traveller is under orders to go about his employment here, there, and when ; or whether, as in the case of a commission agent, he may go where and when he pleases.
The conditions of the employment must be gathered from the agreement between the parties. Apart from special agreement, a commercial traveller is only entitled to one month's notice of dismissal. Where P. agreed to act as the representative of J., at a salary of F150 a year, and the agreement con tained a proviso that if at the end of the year P. had done sufficient business, his salary would be raised to £180, it was held that there was nothing in the agreement to exclude a usage to terminate it by either party giving a month's notice. If, therefore, the traveller wishes to be assured of a certain term of
employment, the term must be clearly expressed in the agreement. Indeed the courts would appear to lean against an extensive construction of the term of employment. Thus, where an agreement was expressed to be binding between the parties for twelve months certain from the date thereof, and to continue from time to time until three months' notice in writing was given by either party to determine it, the Court held the agreement to be binding for twelve months certain, and no more. Commercial, travellers selling and seeking, orders for goods, to or from dealers in who buy to sell again, need not take out a hawker's licence.,: When taking an order for goods of the value of £10 or upwards, it would be advisable to obtain the signature of the customer to the memorandum of the order entered by the traveller in his order-book. Such a signature is necessary in order to make the order binding upon the customer; though should the latter pay some thing in earnest to bind the contract, or in part payment, or accept and receive the goods, the order Ns ill be enforceable. But these are not necessary conditions to the validity of an order for goods under 110 in value. Goods may be sold by description, for a particular purpose, or by sample. The law relating to such sales is of considerable importance to the traveller as well as to his employer; it will be dealt with under the titles CAVEAT EMPTOR ; SALE OF GOODS; and SAMPLES. Reference should also be made to FOREIGN COMMERCIAL TRAVELLING.
An agreement made the day of 19—, Between A. B. & Co. of &o. (hereinafter called "the employers ") of the one part and C. D. of &c. (hereinafter called " the traveller ") of the other part, Whereby it is agreed as follows : 1. The traveller shall enter into the service of the employers for the pur pose of soliciting orders for all goods sold by them, and the employers agree to employ the traveller for such purpose upon the terms and conditions herein contained.