C2.1.h. What is the record of employment for seafarers?

Standard A2.1, paragraph 1(e) of the MLC, 2006 requires seafarers to be given a document containing a record of their employment on board the ship. The MLC, 2006 does not define or have a specific model for this document, but it provides the following information: record of employment must not contain any statement as to the quality of the seafarers’ work or as to their wages. The form of the document, the particulars to be recorded and the manner in which such particulars are to be entered, are to be determined by national law (Standard A2.1, paragraph 3) and should contain sufficient information, with a translation in English, to facilitate the acquisition of further work or to satisfy the sea-service requirements for upgrading or promotion. A seafarers’ discharge book might satisfy the requirements of paragraph 1(e) of the Standard (Guideline B2.1.1).

Seafarers’ employment agreements