PAYE81660 - PAYE operation: international employments: seafarers’ earnings deduction (SED)

Departures from the UK

Employees include entitlement to SED on their returns. See EIM33001 for guidance on the general conditions that an employee has to satisfy in order to qualify for SED. SED may be given provisionally by issuing an NT code where the employer confirms

• That the overseas work will last long enough for the claim to be valid
• That planned returns to the UK during the contract will be within statutory limits
• The probable date of return to the UK and gives an undertaking to give the actual date

Enter the anticipated date of return as an essential note on the employee’s record. This is a reminder of when normal PAYE procedures should be reapplied. You will probably need to issue a fresh code at that time.

When you are satisfied that the employee will qualify for SED, issue code NT to both the employee and the employer and follow the guidance in PAYE81675 and PAYE81680. The relief remains provisional until the qualifying conditions have been met.

PAYE81670 explains the effect of operating code NT in these circumstances.

If you find collusion between employer and employee about details of qualifying days for SED purposes, report the full facts to before taking any action.