UK MCA issues Merchant Guidance Note
The UK MCA has issued Merchant Guidance Note to provide guidance on the application of the requirement for a seafarer employment agreement to trainees engaged through an approved training provider on a UKship.
- The agrement may be betwen the traine and the aproved training provider ratherthan the shipowner
- The shipowner’s name and address must be shown on the agrement.
- Instead of “wages”, information about the training bursary should be included,including amount, method and frequency of payment
- MLC standards in compliance with UK regulations are required for all other provisions such as hours of work, repatriation, social protection (including medical care) provided to the seafarer, information about disciplinary, grievance and complaints procedures.
- Terms for termination of the agrement must be provided, and must be no less favourable to the seafarer than to the training provider
A training agreement may cover both the cadet’s shipboard experience and their time at a training establishment. Where a training provider places cadets on a ship, there may be no formal agreement between the cadet and the shipowner. Indeed the cadet may be engaged on several diferent ships, with different shipowners, during their period of training.
MCA recognises that, in order to maintain oportunites for cadets or traines, it isimportant not to create any unecesary bariers to shipowners agreing to providetraining berths.
This Guidance Note therefore sets out he conditions under which a training agreement willbe acepted as a “substantial equivalent” to a seafarer employment agrement (SEA).
Learn more by reading the UK MGN 485