Rest after long contracts is part of your health and your family life. The MLC regulates two kinds of leave: paid annual leave and shore leave.
Paid annual leave (Standard A2.4)
- Paid annual leave is calculated on the basis of at least 2.5 calendar days per month of employment. A collective agreement or national law may use a different method that takes seafarers' special needs into account.
- Justified absences from work are not counted as annual leave.
- Any agreement to forgo the minimum paid annual leave is prohibited (except in cases provided for by the competent authority). Selling your minimum leave for cash conflicts with the rule.
What does not count as leave? (Guideline B2.4.1)
- Public and customary holidays of the flag State
- Periods of incapacity due to illness, injury or maternity
- Temporary shore leave during the agreement
- Compensatory leave of any kind
Time spent on an approved maritime training course, or off work due to illness or injury, should count as part of the period of service.
Image: Eric Kilby / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Taking your leave
- The timing is set, as far as possible, in agreement with you.
- In principle you take leave at the place with which you have a substantial connection — normally your repatriation destination.
- If you are required to start leave elsewhere, you are entitled to free transport to where you were engaged, and travel time is not deducted from your leave.
- A seafarer on leave may be recalled only in cases of extreme emergency and with their consent.
Shore leave (Regulation 2.4, para 2)
Seafarers shall be granted shore leave to benefit their health and well-being, consistent with the operational requirements of their positions. Guideline B4.4.6 asks that shore leave be facilitated as soon as possible after arrival in port.
Practical tip: Check that the leave pay in your contract meets the 2.5 days/month rate: a six-month contract equals at least 15 days of paid leave.
Source: ILO, Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 — Regulation 2.4, Standard A2.4, Guideline B2.4. This article is based on the MLC 2006 text published by the ILO and is for general information. Your flag State's law or your collective agreement may give you more favourable terms; in a specific dispute, talk to your union or a lawyer.
Full series: MLC 2006 Guide: Seafarers' Rights
