NIM29014 - Special cases: Class 1 - mariners: working on a British ship

Note: This page is under review and the content may only be appropriate to periods beginning before 1 January 2021 and for those covered by a Withdrawal Agreement.

Regulation 115 of the Social Security Contributions Regulations 2001 (SSCR 2001)(SI 2001 No 1004)

The regulations provide a British ship means

• any ship or vessel belonging to Her Majesty; or
• any ship or vessel whose port of registry is a port in the United Kingdom; or
• a hovercraft which is registered in the United Kingdom.

If a person is employed as a mariner on a British ship and they are domiciled or resident in the UK they will have to pay Class 1 NICs.

The employer, or the person paying the wages, will also have to pay Class 1 NICs if they live in or have a place of business in the UK.

If the employer or the person paying the wages does not live in, or have a place of business in the UK, they will not have to pay Class 1 NICs.

If the mariner works wholly or mainly within Category A, B, C or D waters and their employer supplies them to work for a business in the UK, then the mariner may have a ‘host’ employer who will be required to pay Class 1 NICs. See NIM33025 for an explanation of the Host employer Regulations.

If there is no employer, payer of wages, ‘host’ employer or other secondary contributor in the UK to deduct the Class 1 NICs from pay via a PAYE scheme, then the mariner will need to pay their Primary NICs directly to HMRC. Their contributions will still count for benefit.

Mariner not resident in the UK

There are special rules for mariners resident in another EEA State but working on a British flagged ship See NIM29003 if the person is resident, or the employer’s business is in the EEAT.

From 1 May 2010, an employer in another Member State of the European Union is treated as having a place of business in the UK for NICs and NICs rules apply to that employer, where their mariner has to pay Class 1 NICs.