Seafarers

Working hours and rest

If you employ staff on board a seagoing ship, their standard working hours are 8 hours per day, with one day of rest per week and additional rests on public holidays.

According to EU rules, you have to guarantee that crewmembers stick to maximum working hours or minimum resting time:

• the maximum working hours must not exceed 14 hours in any 24-hour period and 72 hours in any 7-day period
• the minimum resting time cannot be less than 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period

You can divide the hours of rest into a maximum of two parts. If you split the rest, one of the two rest periods must last at least 6 hours and the interval between consecutive rest periods cannot exceed 14 hours.

Paid annual leave

You must guarantee that your employees receive a minimum of 2.5 calendar days of paid annual leave per month and on a pro-rata basis for incomplete months. You cannot replace the minimum period of paid annual leave by an allowance, except when the employment is terminated.

Keeping records

As an employer, you have to keep a record of daily hours worked and rest periods taken by your crewmembers. You should provide each staff member with a copy of their records, endorsed by the master of the ship and by the employee.

Health assessments

Before your staff start to work on a ship, your crewmembers must possess a valid medical certificate attesting that they are medically fit to perform their duties.

Unless a shorter period is required, the medical certificates of your staff are valid for a maximum period of 2 years. If your crew members are under 18, the maximum period of validity is one year. Note that a certification of colour vision can be valid for a maximum period of 6 years.

In urgent cases, the competent authority may permit a crewmember to work without a valid medical certificate (or when its validity period expires during a voyage) until they reach the next port of call, where the crewmember can obtain a medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner. You can do so if:

• the period of this permission does not exceed 3 months
• your crewmember has a recently expired medical certificate

If you hire crewmembers to work on ships ordinarily engaged on international voyages, make sure that the medical certificate is at least provided in English.

Your crewmembers must have regular health assessments, including a comprehensive review of their physical and mental fitness to ensure they can safely perform their duties. If a watchkeeper suffers from health problems related to work performed during a night shift, you must transfer him/her, when possible, to day work.

EU guidelines strongly encourage the use of electronic medical certificates to make the verification process quicker and more secure. In some EU countries, electronic medical certificates may be mandatory, so make sure to check with the competent authorities in the country where you operate.

Mutual recognition of certificates of competency

When you hire staff, they will need to provide you with a certificate of competency (CoC) to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to do the job. You cannot refuse to accept CoCs that have been issued in another EU country.

If you are employing a seafarer from a non-EU country, they must have their certificates endorsed by the flag state of the vessel they intend to work on. Certificates must always be issued by a country whose training and certification system is recognised by the EU.

Several EU countries have introduced electronic verification of CoCs to align with EU guidelines and international standards. The electronic verification of CoCs is a safe, quick and cost-effective way of making sure that you are hiring qualified seafarers. In some EU countries electronic verification is mandatory, so make sure to check the specific requirements in the countries where you operate.

Training requirements

As an employer within the shipping industry, you need to be aware of several key EU requirements related to the training of seafarers. The requirements arise directly from the EU’s adherence to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). The requirements include:

• Basic training: All seafarers must undergo basic safety training covering personal survival techniques, fire prevention and firefighting, elementary first aid, and personal safety and social responsibilities.
• Advanced training: Specific roles and responsibilities require advanced training, such as proficiency in survival craft and rescue boats, advanced firefighting, medical care, and ship security officer training.
• Refresher training: Regular refresher courses are required to ensure seafarers maintain their competencies and are up to date with the latest safety practices.

Age limits

You cannot hire staff under 16 to work on a ship.

If you hire staff under 18, they cannot work during the night. Consider as night a period of at least 9 consecutive hours defined by national rules which includes the time from midnight to 5 am, for example from 10 pm to 7 am, or 8 pm to 5 am. Your staff aged between 16 and 18 can only work during the night if they're taking part in a training course when the competent authority has made an exception.

You cannot employ crewmembers under 18 if their employment, engagement or work is likely to jeopardise their health or safety. To find out which type of work is forbidden, follow the indications set by national rules or by the competent authority.

More information

• European Maritime Safety Agency: links to websites of national authorities offering online certificate verification.
• EndorseMe: tool to check which countries accept each other's CoCs
• European Commission: employment conditions for seafarers
• European Commission: training for seafarers
• International Maritime Organisation: training and certification