Regulations governing the new Marine Labour Convention (MLC) require all seafarers and that includes crews working on superyachts, to have a proper contract of employment.
The convention sets out seafarers’ rights to decent working conditions and has been designed to complement the key conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under which all employers will be expected to meet the requirements as defined in the Convention. Vessels and employers will be subject to regular audits to ensure compliance and ratification of the MLC is set to take place during the next 18 months
As yacht owners become increasingly aware of the stringent statutory regulations and significant employment liabilities that are involved in employing crew members so there has been a surge of new business such as the bespoke service arranged by a subsidiary of the ICM group, Dominion Crew Solutions.
Currently they have 67 superyachts using the service and the figure is rising each month. Simon Roberts, the man in charge, says, “The challenge now is for us to continue to meet and exceed the requirements of our ever expanding fleet of clients.”
He added: “It is a crew employment and payroll service which includes the verification of crew qualifications, management of crew employment disputes and the maintenance of employment contract compliance both now and following the forthcoming ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
Effectively, the employment of the yacht’s crew is transferred to outside of the EU and away from the vessel owner and the new service provides seafarers with an employment contract which is tailored to the needs of the vessel and crew members.
