
1 

(1) These regulations may be cited as the
Social Security (Mariners' Benefits) Regulations 1975, and shall come into
operation on 6th April 1975.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context
otherwise requires—
 “the Act”
means the Social Security
Act 1973;
 “British ship”
means— 
(a) any
ship or vessel belonging to Her Majesty; or
(b) any ship or vessel whose port
of registry is a port in Great Britain;
 “the Contributions Regulations”
 means the 
Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1973, as amended;

 “foreign-going voyage”
 means a voyage going outside the following
limits, that is to say, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel
Islands, the Isle of Man and the continent of Europe between the river Elbe
and Brest inclusive;
 “managing owner”
means that owner of any ship or vessel who, where there
is more than one such owner, is responsible for the control and management
of that ship or vessel;
 “mariner”
means a person who is or has been in employment under
a contract of service either as a master or member of the crew of any ship
or vessel, or in any other capacity on board any ship or vessel where— 
(a) the employment in that other capacity is for
the purposes of that ship or vessel or her crew or any passengers or cargo
or mails carried thereby; and
(b) the contract is entered into
in the United Kingdom with a view to its performance (in whole or in part)
while the ship or vessel is on her voyage;  but does not include a person in so far as his employment is as a
serving member of the forces (as defined in 
regulation 1(2) of the Contributions Regulations),
unless he is serving or undergoing training or instruction in any of the forces
mentioned in Part I of Schedule 6
to those regulations (except the regular naval, military or air forces of
the Crown) for a continuous period not exceeding 72 consecutive hours;

 “owner”,
in relation to any ship or vessel, means the person
to whom the ship or vessel belongs and who, subject to the right of control
of the captain or master of the ship or vessel, is entitled to control of
that ship or vessel, and references to the owner of a ship or vessel shall,
in relation to a ship or vessel which has been demised, be construed as referring
to the person who for the time being is entitled as charterer to possession
and, subject as aforesaid, control of the ship or vessel by virtue of the
demise or any sub-demise;
 “share fisherman”
means any person who— 
(a) is ordinarily employed in the fishing industry otherwise than under
a contract of service, as master or a member of the crew of any British fishing
boat within the meaning of 
section 373 of the Merchant Shipping
Act 1894, being a fishing boat manned by more
than one person, and remunerated in respect of that employment in whole or
in part by a share of the profits or gross earnings of the fishing boat; or

(b) has ordinarily been so employed,
but who by reason of age or infirmity permanently ceases to be so employed
and becomes ordinarily engaged in employment ashore in Great Britain otherwise
than under a contract of service making or mending any gear appurtenant to
a British fishing boat or performing other services ancillary to or in connection
with that boat and is remunerated in respect of that employment in whole or
in part by a share of the profits or gross earnings of that boat and has not
ceased to be ordinarily engaged in such employment;
 “sea-going share fisherman”
 means a person falling within 
sub-paragraph (a) of the definition of “share
fisherman” above;
 “on-shore share fisherman”
 means a person falling within 
sub-paragraph (b) of the definition of “share
fisherman” above;and, subject as aforesaid, expressions to which meanings are assigned
in the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1970 have the same meanings as in those
Acts; and other expressions have the same meanings as in the Act.
(3) Regulations
1, 4, 
6(1) and (2) and 
9, in their application to mariners but not
in their application to share fishermen, shall have effect as if any reference
therein in whatever terms to ships or vessels or activities or places connected
therewith included a reference to hovercraft or activities or places connected
with hovercraft, subject to the modifications contained in the Schedule to
these regulations.
(4) Any reference in these regulations to
any provision made by or contained in any enactment or instrument shall, except
in so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to
that provision as amended or extended by any enactment or instrument and as
including a reference to any provision which it re-enacts or replaces, or
which may re-enact or replace it, with or without modification.
(5) The rules for the construction of Acts
of Parliament contained in the 
Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the
purposes of the interpretation of these regulations as they apply for the
purposes of the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
2 
Where a person, either being domiciled or having a place of residence
in the United Kingdom—
(a) is employed as a mariner on board any
British ship, not being a ship used wholly or mainly for the disposal of sludge;
or
(b) is employed as a mariner on board any
ship or vessel, not being a British ship or a ship or vessel used wholly or
mainly for the disposal of sludge, and—
(i) the contract in respect of the employment
is entered into in the United Kingdom with a view to its performance (in whole
or in part) while the ship or vessel is on her voyage; and
(ii) the owner (or managing owner, if there
is more than one owner) has a place of business in Great Britain; and
(c) upon the termination of a voyage ending
during the period of that employment, he is entitled to a day or days of leave
on pay, and
(d) that employment is terminated before
the end of the period of leave on pay,
no day in the period of leave shall be treated as a day
of unemployment.
3 
Upon making any claim for benefit, any mariner shall, if so required,
furnish to the Secretary of State the number of his continuous discharge book
and particulars of the ships and vessels on board which he was employed during
any period material to the claim.
4 
Any person, who is or has been employed as a mariner on board any
ship or vessel or who is or has been under contract to travel at his employer's
expense for the purpose of commencing such employment, shall not by reason
of his being absent from Great Britain (but subject to the provisions of any
regulations made under section 14(3)(a)
(disqualification through misconduct) of the Act), be disqualified on any
day for receiving—
(a) sickness or invalidity benefit, if
(i) on account of any hurt or injury received,
or any illness suffered, by him while so employed or under contract so to
travel; or
(ii) in consequence of any action taken,
while he is or was so employed or under contract so to travel, for the purpose
of preventing infection;he has been left outside Great Britain or has been discharged or
has not commenced such employment; or
(b) unemployment, sickness or invalidity
benefit, if, while so employed or under contract so to travel, he has been
left outside Great Britain for any reasons other than those specified in sub-paragraphs
(i) and (ii) of paragraph (a) of this regulation, and reports to the appropriate
superintendent or consular officer or chief officer of customs not later than
14 days after being so left, or, if, at the time of being so left, he was
placed in custody, immediately after his release from custody:Provided that this regulation shall cease to have effect—

(a) on that person's commencing or resuming
employment outside Great Britain; or
(b) in any case where that person is not
returned without undue delay to the place to which 
regulation 7 of the Merchant Shipping
(Repatriation) Regulations 1972 requires him to be returned, on the occurrence
of the delay; or
(c) in any other case, on his being returned
to the place mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of this proviso.
5 
For the purpose of any claim to unemployment, sickness or invalidity
benefit by a mariner or share fisherman employed on board any ship or vessel,
evidence may be taken—
(a) in any part of the Commonwealth or the
Republic of Ireland, before a judge or magistrate, or by a superintendent;

(b) in a foreign country, by a British consular
officer.
6 

(1) A mariner or share fisherman employed
as such on board any ship or vessel shall, notwithstanding that he is absent
from Great Britain, be deemed to be available to be employed in employed earner's
employment on any day, if he would be so available, or in the case of a share
fisherman would be available for employment as a share fisherman, were he,
on that day, in Great Britain.
(2) Where by virtue of 
regulation 4(a) above a person is not disqualified
on any day for receiving sickness or invalidity benefit, although absent from
Great Britain, he shall be deemed to be incapable of work by reason of some
specific disease or bodily or mental disablement on any such day.
(3) A mariner shall not be precluded from
being treated as being unemployed on any day by reason only that in respect
of that day he receives a payment of establishment benefit under the 
Merchant Navy Established Service Scheme or
any amendment of that Scheme approved by the Secretary of State.
7 
Where, on a claim for benefit, a contribution condition that the
contributor concerned must in respect of the relevant past year have either
paid or been credited with contributions of a relevant class and the earnings
factor derived from those contributions must be not less than a specified
multiple of that year's lower earnings limit cannot apart from this regulation
be satisfied because the contributor concerned has been employed during the
relevant past year in employment as a mariner on a foreign-going voyage in
respect of which contributions were payable but have not yet been recorded,
the contributor shall be deemed, until contributions have been recorded in
respect of that voyage, to have paid contributions, in respect of earnings
equal to the lower earnings limit, for each week in the period beginning on
the Sunday of the week in which the voyage began and ending at the end of
that year or (if earlier) when the voyage ended.
8 

(1) For the purposes of the contribution
conditions for unemployment benefit contained in 
paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Act, any Class
2 contribution paid by a share fisherman at the rate applicable to share fishermen
in accordance with regulation 87A(c)
of the Contributions Regulations shall be deemed to be a contribution of a
relevant class, and so much of any earnings factor as is derived from such
contributions shall be deemed to be derived from contributions of a relevant
class.
(2) For the purposes of 
section 12(1)(a)(i) of the Act (determination
of days for which unemployment benefit is payable), a share fisherman who
is available for employment as a share fisherman shall be deemed to be available
to be employed in employed earner's employment.
(3) For the purposes of 
sections 13(2) (requalification for unemployment benefit)
and 14(1) and (2)
 (disqualification for unemployment benefit)
of the Act, employment as a share fisherman shall be treated as employed earner's
employment, and for the purposes of section 14(6)(b)
 of the Act (trade disputes), the owner (or
managing owner if there is more than one owner) of a fishing boat shall be
treated as the employer of any share fisherman (other than himself) ordinarily
employed as master or a member of the crew of, or making or mending any gear
appurtenant to or performing other services ancillary to or in connection
with, that fishing boat, and any such share fisherman shall be treated as
his employee.
(4) For the purposes of 
section 12(1)(b) of the Act (as substituted
by section 12(3)
of the Act) (determination of days for which benefit is payable) a share fisherman
who on any day performs no work as a share fisherman shall, in respect of
that day, be treated as an employed earner whose employment as such has not
been terminated but has been suspended by the employer.
(5) It shall be an additional condition with
respect to the receipt of unemployment benefit by a sea-going share fisherman
in respect of any day, that it is a day on which he performs no work as a
share fisherman and in respect of which he proves that he has not neglected
to avail himself of a reasonable opportunity of employment as a fisherman.

(6) Where a sea-going share fisherman is
master or a member of the crew of a fishing boat of which either the master
or any member of the crew is the owner or part owner, he must, in addition
to satisfying the additional condition contained in 
paragraph (5) above, also prove that there
was no work on or in connection with that fishing boat available for him on
that day for the reason—
(a) that on account of the state of the weather
the fishing boat could not reasonably have put to sea with a view to fishing;
or
(b) that the fishing boat was undergoing
repairs or maintenance, not being repairs or maintenance to which 
paragraph (7) below relates; or
(c) that there was an absence of fish from
any waters in which the fishing boat could reasonably be expected to operate;
or
(d) that any other good cause necessitated
abstention from fishing.
(7) The following provisions shall apply
for the purposes of the application of paragraph
(5) above:—
(a) work as a share fisherman within the
meaning of paragraph (5)
shall include any of the work specified in sub-paragraph
(b) below which at the time of its performance
is necessary for the safety or reasonable efficiency of the fishing boat,
or is likely to become so necessary in the near future, and which it is the
duty of the share fisherman (whether by agreement, custom, practice or otherwise)
to undertake without remuneration other than by way of a share in the profits
or gross earnings of the fishing boat, but any other work done to the fishing
boat or its nets or gear shall be disregarded; and
(b) the work so included by 
sub-paragraph (a) above is any work done to
the fishing boat or its nets or gear by way of repairs (including running
repairs) or maintenance, or in connection with the laying up of the boat and
its nets and gear at the end of a fishing season or their preparation for
a season's fishing.
(8) It shall be an additional condition with
respect to the receipt of unemployment benefit by an on-shore share fisherman
in respect of any day, that it is a day in respect of which he proves that
he has not neglected to avail himself of a reasonable opportunity of such
employment as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)
 of the definition of the expression “share
fisherman” in regulation 1(2)
above.
(9) Where an on-shore share fisherman derives
his remuneration wholly or partly from a fishing boat of which either he or
the master or any member of the crew is the owner or part owner, he must,
in addition to satisfying the additional condition contained in 
paragraph (8) above, also prove that that fishing
boat did not put to sea on that day with a view to fishing for any of the
reasons specified in sub-paragraphs
(a) to (d) of paragraph (6) above.
(10) A day in respect of which unemployment
benefit is not payable by reason of any failure to satisfy the conditions
contained in this regulation shall not be treated as a day of unemployment,
but nothing in this regulation shall enable any day to be treated as a day
of unemployment which could not be so treated apart from this regulation.

9 
The provisions of Part I
of the Act and of the regulations made thereunder relating to benefits shall,
so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of these regulations,
apply to mariners and share fishermen with this modification, that where a
mariner or share fisherman is, on account of his being at sea or outside the
United Kingdom by reason of his employment as a mariner or a share fisherman,
unable to perform an act required to be done either forthwith or on the happening
of a certain event or within a specified time, he shall be deemed to have
complied therewith if he performs the act as soon as is reasonably practicable,
although after the happening of the event or the expiration of the specified
time.
Barbara Castle
Secretary of State for Social Services
26th March 1975
THE SCHEDULE
Regulation 1(3)
1 
In regulation 1(2)
, the words “and, subject as aforesaid,
expressions to which meanings are assigned in the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894
to 1970 have the same meanings as in those Acts” shall not apply.

2 
In regulation 4
, in paragraph (b)
the words “superintendent or” shall be omitted;
in sub-paragraph (b)
of the proviso for the words “the place to which 
regulation 7 of the Merchant Shipping
(Repatriation) Regulations 1972 requires him
to be returned” there shall be substituted the words 
“Great Britain”; and in 
sub-paragraph (c) of the proviso for the words 
“the place mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)
 of this proviso” there shall
be substituted the words “Great Britain”.