Equality Act 2010 and seafarers

17 June 2010

Equality Act 2010 review announced into differential pay for seafarers The Equality Act 2010 (“Act”) is intended to provide a new legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and promote equality for all; to update, simplify and strengthen previous equality legislation; and to deliver a consolidated, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unlawful treatment. The bulk of the Act is timetabled to come into force, in stages, over the course of the next two years with a significant part of it being implemented in October 2010.

First review of Equality Act 2010 announced
Speculation has grown in the media that this timetable may be subject to delay by the new coalition Government as it reviews parts of the Act which it does not support. The first review into the Act has recently been announced in a Parliamentary statement. It concerns the niche area of differential pay for seafarers.

Differential pay is standard practice across EU Member States and internationally. Broadly speaking, it allows foreign seafarers to be paid less than British or EU and EEA workers. (In this context, the definition of foreign seafarers does not include British nationals or seafarers from any EU or EEA state (or any other state whose nationals are entitled to corresponding rights under EU law) nor seafarers recruited in Great Britain.)

What part of the Act is being reviewed?
The previous Government's draft regulations showed they proposed to apply part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 to seafarers. These regulations did not deal with the practice of differential pay for seafarers recruited abroad. This would have meant that the practice of paying different pay for foreign seafarers recruited abroad, in certain circumstances, would have become unlawful under the Act.

The new coalition Government state that a reason for continuing to allow the payment of differential rates to foreign seafarers is due to the lower costs of living in the places where these seafarers respectively habitually reside in comparison with the higher cost of living for British and EU or EEA workers.

The report commissioned by the last Labour Government stated that differential pay allowed shipping companies to “take advantage” and pay very low rates to foreign workers. It stated that such pay differentials in British workplaces were increasingly viewed as unacceptable.

Request for assistance with coalition Government review of differential pay
Seafarers, employers of seafarers and other stakeholders likely to be affected by the final regulations are requested by the current Government to consider the report on this subject prepared by the previous Government and to give their opinions on whether differential pay should be abolished. Copies of the previous Government's report is available by clicking here.

Time limit
The review was announced on 9 June and the deadline for responses is 23 June 2010. The address for submissions can be found by clicking here.

Nicholas Humphreys
Partner
nicholas.humphreys@hilldickinson.com
+44 (0)20 7280 9246