This guidance explains when seafarers and other persons who work at sea are entitled to the minimum wage. It provides examples of when UK minimum wage law applies to seafarers working on UK and non-UK registered ships.

It expands on the guidance provided in the main Calculating the minimum wage.

It is to help workers, employers, and overseas crewing agencies calculate national minimum wage (NMW) entitlement.

It covers the changes made to the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) Order 1999 (SI1128) which came into force on 1 October 2020.

These changes extended the right to the minimum wage to:

• all seafarers and employed fishers working in the UK territorial sea, regardless of where they ordinarily work or where a ship is registered
• to those working in the UK part of the continental shelf (with the exception of workers on ships exercising innocent passage or the right of transit passage)

Previously only seafarers who ordinarily work in the UK were entitled to the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage when working in the UK territorial waters or if they worked on a UK registered ship and were ordinarily resident in the UK.

Seafarer statistics provide more on numbers of seafarers in the UK.

Please note that this guidance will help you gain and check your understanding of the minimum wage rules, but it can’t provide definitive answers to individual queries. You should always seek advice on specific circumstances, as each case may be different.

Whether you are a worker or employer, if you are unsure about any aspect of nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage entitlement you can contact the ACAS Helpline on 0300 123 1100.

Definitions: seafarers, territorial waters, UK continental shelf

Clarification of the term ‘seafarers’

Government guidelines published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) define a seafarer as anyone who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship. As well as the master and crew of a seagoing ship, this could include persons in customer facing roles, and other persons who are employed by a franchise company to work on board. It may also include self-employed persons who work on board the ship engaged in the business of the ship, for example offshore technicians who eat and sleep aboard the ship.

However, the Offshore Employment Order 1999 (as amended) applies more broadly than this and is not limited just to seafarers. Rather it applies minimum wage legislation to most workers working in the UK territorial waters on domestic voyages or engaged in offshore employment in the UK section of the continental shelf. This includes seafarers on board a ship, as well as other workers not on board ships, for example workers on oil and gas installations.

The exception to this is that workers on a ship exercising innocent or transit passage are not covered by the 1999 Order. They may however still be covered by minimum wage legislation if they ordinarily work in the UK - see Innocent passage and transit passage.

Definition of ‘national‘National minimumMinimum wage’Wage’

In this guidance ‘national‘National minimumMinimum wage’Wage’ (NMW) refers to all the minimum wage rates specified in the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, made under the 1998 Act. This includes age-specific rates of minimum wage and the national living wage. See:

• the most recent minimum wage rates and types
• the types of pay that count for minimum wage
• full guidance on calculating the minimum wage

Clarification of the term ‘territorial waters’

The 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) defines territorial waters as the belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state.

Most workers on ships within UK territorial waters on a domestic voyage are entitled to be paid at least the nationalNational minimumMinimum wage.Wage. This is the case whether or not:

• the worker counts as a seafarer as described above
• the ship is registered in the UK, or
• the worker ordinarily resides in the UK

UK sector of the continental shelf

A worker is eligible for the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage if they are working in the United Kingdom sector of the continental shelf in connection with:

• the exploration of the sea-bed or subsoil, or
• the exploitation of their natural resources: those being mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil together with living organisms belonging to sedentary species

Eligibility

Most workers in the United Kingdom over compulsory school age are entitled to be paid at least nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage rates. A worker is defined in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, section 54(3) as someone who has entered into or works or worked under:

• a contract of employment or
• a contract by which the individual undertakes to perform work or services personally for someone else who is not a client or customer of any profession or business carried on by the individual. The contract can be expressed (whether agreed orally or in writing) or implied

Under the Maritime Labour Convention, a ship owner is required to have a Seafarers Employment Agreement with every individual seafarer working on their vessel, other than ships engaged in fishing or in similar pursuits and ships of traditional build such as dhows and junks. The Convention does not apply to warships or naval auxiliaries.

However, the international nature of the maritime industry can often make the position of the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage complex in terms of entitlement, jurisdiction and enforcement.

Working in the UK: offshore employment

The 1998 Act applies the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage to the work of someone who ‘is working, or ordinarily works’ in the UK.

From 1 October 2020 seafarers regarded as working or ordinarily working in the UK now include those who work or ordinarily work:

• in the territorial waters of the UK, or
• in the UK sector of the continental shelf

See the legislation

• Section 1(2)(b) of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998
• Article 2(1) of the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) Order 1999

Working outside the UK on a UK flagged ship

Seafarers on a UK flagged ship are entitled to the NMW for work performed outside the UK if they ordinarily work in the UK. Seafarers working on a UK flagged ship are treated as ordinarily working in the UK if:

• they are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom; and
• at least some of their employment is in the United Kingdom

See the legislation:

• Section 40 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998

Working outside the UK on a non-UK flagged ship

Seafarers on a non-UK flagged ship are entitled to the NMW for work performed outside the UK if they ‘ordinarily work’ in the UK.

It is necessary to consider the circumstances of the employment to ascertain whether the seafarer has a sufficiently strong connection to the UK. Criteria considered when deciding whether someone ordinarily works in the UK might include:

• where the seafarer’s tour of duty begins and ends
• where the seafarer is subject to income tax and National Insurance Contributions
• the currency that the seafarer is paid in

See the legislation:

• Section 1(2)(b) of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998

Agency workers

The legislation makes provision for agency workers to be entitled to the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage where they would not otherwise be defined as a ‘worker’ because they do not have a worker’s contract with either the agency or the principal hirer. Workers are still entitled to nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage if they are working in the UK territorial waters on a domestic voyage, even if the crewing agents are based overseas.

See the legislation:

• Section 34 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998

Exemptions: Innocent passage and transit passage

Vessels entering UK territorial waters as part of an international voyage, are considered to be under innocent passage, and are not affected by UK minimum wage legislation.

Examples include:

• a ship sailing from one international port to another that happened to pass through UK territorial waters
• ferry services operating between the UK and mainland Europe (including the Republic of Ireland)
• vessels calling at a British port as part of a longer international, multi-port voyage

The United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) state that for ‘innocent passage’ to apply, “passage shall be ‘continuous and expeditious’, including ‘stopping and anchoring but only in so far as the same are incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by force majeure or distress or for the purpose of rendering assistance to persons, ships or aircraft in danger or distress.”

Similarly, vessels exercising the right of transit passage will likewise not be affected by UK minimum wage legislation. Transit passage refers to navigation through straits which connect the high seas. There are 8 straits around the UK: the English Channel, the Strait of Dover, the Solent, the North Channel, Pentland Firth, the Swale, the Minch and the Gulf of Corryvrekan). For the purposes of international law straits are defined as waterways ‘used for international navigation between one part of the high seas or an Exclusive Economic Zone and another part of the high seas or an Exclusive Economic Zone.’

Excluded persons and excluded work

There is further guidance on exemptions.

Excluded persons

The nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage does not apply to excluded persons as set out in the legislation. Share fishermen are listed as excluded persons.

See the legislation:

• Sections 43-45B of the NMW Act 1998

‘Fisherman’ means a person, including the skipper, employed, engaged, or working in any capacity on board any fishing vessel, but does not include a person solely engaged as a pilot for the vessel.

Some fishers are share fishers. A ‘share fisherman’ is defined as a person:

(a) employed as master, or as a member of the crew, of a fishing vessel, and
(b) remunerated, in respect of that employment, only by a share in the profits or gross earnings of the vessel

Share fishermen do not qualify for the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage in respect of that employment.

The right of share fishers to the minimum wage for any other work undertaken, for example, as a guard vessel, depends on the nature of the contract and the circumstances of the case.

Excluded work

The nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage does not apply to certain types of work, which include:

• schemes for trial periods of work – where funded by national skills funding agencies or other UK national authorities (for example provision under the Jobseekers Act 1995)
• work experience as part of a higher or further education course
• traineeships in England
• European Union programmes (for example the Erasmus+ Programme)
• work relating to family households or family businesses

See the legislation:

• Part 6 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015

Examples of how the legislation might be applied in specific circumstances

We have provided some examples of how the legislation may be applied under specific circumstances. For simplicity we have assumed the following is true for all of these examples:

• that the worker is over compulsory school age
• that the worker meets the criteria to be classed as a worker under the NMW legislation
• that the worker is not excluded under ss. 43-45B of the NMW Act or exempt under Part 6 of the NMW Regulations 2015
• references to the UK includes the UK territorial waters and UK sector of the continental shelf

Enforcing payment of the minimum wage

See the manual: Enforcing the minimum wage.

The government is committed to increasing compliance with national minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it.

Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.

Where workers are not paid at least national minimum wage they can seek to enforce their entitlement through an Employment Tribunal or the County Court. Alternatively, HMthe RevenueFair &Work CustomsAgency (HMRCFWA) enforces the UK nationalNational minimumMinimum wage,Wage, and they can investigate employers and respond to complaints from workers.

A seafarer who has a question about the nationalNational minimumMinimum wageWage or believes they may not have received what they are legally entitled to can call the ACAS Workplace Advice Helpline (0300 123 1100). This is a free and confidential number, through which workers can also make direct complaints of non-payment of the nationalNational minimumMinimum wage.Wage. Third party complaints can also be submitted via the ACAS Helpline.

Seafarers can also complain directlyusing tothe HMRCcomplain usingabout thispay onlineand work rights form.

Every complaint made is considered by HMRCFWA for investigation.

Where HMRCFWA finds that an employer has not paid nationalNational minimumMinimum wage,Wage, it will issue a Notice of Underpayment requiring the employer to pay arrears to the worker. The employer may also be required to pay a penalty to the UK government and be considered for naming under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme.

See further information on national minimum wage enforcement.

Employment tribunal claims

The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013 set out when claims may be presented to Employment Tribunals (including for National Minimum Wage complaints) - see the Calculating the minimum wage guidance.

A claim may be presented in an employment tribunal in England, Wales, or Scotland if:

• the respondent, or one of the respondents, resides or carries on business in England, Wales or Scotland
• one or more of the acts or omissions complained of took place in England, Wales or Scotland
• the claim relates to a contract under which the work is or has been performed partly in England, Wales, or Scotland
• the tribunal has jurisdiction to determine the claim by virtue of a connection with Great Britain and the connection in question is at least partly a connection with England, Wales or Scotland

A seafarer does not need to be a British National to bring a claim, nor does the ship need to be registered in the UK.

See the legislation:

• Paragraphs 8(2) and (3) of Schedule 1 to the Employment Tribunals Regulations

See employment-related tribunals information relating to Northern Ireland