§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list those sections of United Kingdom employment law from which British merchant seafarers are presently excluded. [24167]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneySection 199(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 specifies provisions in that Act from which mariners—whatever their nationality—are excluded where they are employed in a UK registered ship under a crew agreement approved by the Secretary of State. The provisions in question are sections one to seven (concerning the right to a written statement of employment particulars), Part II (protection of wages) and sections 86 to 91 (minimum period of notice).
Section 199(4) of the 1996 Act specifies provisions from which merchant seamen are excluded. These are sections eight to ten (right to itemised pay statement), sections 50–54 (time off work) and Part XII (payments where an employer is insolvent).
657WOther exclusions from the 1996 Act, as set out in section 196, apply equally to seafarers and other employees working wholly or mainly outside Great Britain, except that section 196(5) and 199(6) provides that certain of these exclusions do not apply to seafarers in certain circumstances.
Equivalent provisions applying in Northern Ireland are included in Article 242 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.