Seafarer Payslip Explained: Overtime, Leave Pay, Allotment

Short answer: Standard A2.2 requires wages to be paid at no greater than monthly intervals, and requires each seafarer to receive a monthly account of the payments due and the amounts paid, including wages, additional payments and the rate of exchange used where payment was made in a different currency.

Regulation 2.2 states the principle: all seafarers shall be paid for their work regularly and in full in accordance with their employment agreements. Standard A2.2 then adds three practical protections. Paragraph 2 is the monthly account. Paragraphs 3 and 4 require shipowners to provide a way for seafarers to send all or part of their earnings to their families, dependants or legal beneficiaries, including allotments remitted in due time and directly to the person nominated. Paragraph 5 says any charge for that service must be reasonable in amount, and the currency exchange rate must be at the prevailing market rate or the official published rate and not unfavourable to the seafarer.

The account is usually called a wage account, wage slip, portage bill extract or payslip. Its format varies by company and payroll system, but the logic is the same: what you earned this month, what was deducted or advanced, what was sent home, and what is carried forward as balance on board.

Short answer: the basic wage is the pay for normal hours of work, excluding overtime, bonuses and allowances. Overtime and often leave pay are calculated from it, so a low basic wage with a high 'total' usually means less protection.

Guideline B2.2.1 defines basic pay or wages as the pay, however composed, for normal hours of work, not including payments for overtime, bonuses, allowances, paid leave or other additional remuneration. Guideline B2.2.2 suggests normal hours of work at sea and in port should not exceed eight hours per day for the purpose of calculating wages, with normal weekly hours for overtime purposes not exceeding 48 unless a collective agreement provides differently but no less favourable treatment.

For an able seafarer, there is an internationally agreed minimum reference point. The ILO Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers agreed in April 2025 that the ILO minimum monthly basic wage for an able seafarer is USD 690 from 1 January 2026, rising to USD 704 from 1 January 2027 and USD 715 from 1 January 2028. This figure is a recommended minimum basic wage, not a typical market wage, and it applies to the basic wage line, not the total. Many CBAs and company scales sit well above it.

Why basic matters: if your contract shows a basic of USD 800 and a 'fixed overtime' of USD 1,200, your overtime rate, leave pay and possibly compensation calculations may all be based on the smaller number. Two offers with the same total can be worth quite different amounts once leave pay and overtime are worked out.

Short answer: fixed or guaranteed overtime (often shown as FOT or GOT) is a set monthly payment for an agreed number of overtime hours, paid whether or not you work them. Extra or open overtime is paid per hour for any hours beyond that, at a rate the MLC guidance says should be at least 1.25 times the basic hourly rate.

Guideline B2.2.2, paragraph 1(c) recommends that overtime be paid at not less than one and one-quarter times the basic pay or wages per hour. Paragraph 1(d) recommends that records of all overtime worked be maintained by the master, or a person assigned by the master, and endorsed by the seafarer at no greater than monthly intervals. If you are paid hourly overtime, you should be signing an overtime sheet each month. Keep your own copy or photo.

Many contracts for officers use a fully consolidated wage, where overtime is included in one monthly figure. Guideline B2.2.2, paragraph 2 says that in that case the employment agreement should specify clearly the number of hours expected in return for the consolidated wage, and any additional allowances. The portion representing normal hours should not be less than the applicable minimum wage.

Contracts based on the Philippine standard terms illustrate a common structure. Under the POEA (now DMW) standard employment contract, fixed overtime is paid at not less than 30% of basic monthly salary for up to 105 hours, and hours beyond that, or open overtime, are paid at not less than 125% of the basic hourly rate based on 208 regular working hours per month. Other national standards and CBAs use different numbers, so always check your own wage scale.

Note that overtime records and hours of rest records are separate. Standard A2.3 sets minimum rest of 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period (or maximum work of 14 hours in 24 and 72 in 7 days, depending on the flag's choice). Being paid for overtime does not remove the rest-hour limits.

Short answer: leave pay is your earned paid annual leave, at a minimum of 2.5 calendar days per month of employment under Standard A2.4. It may appear as a monthly line on your wage account or be settled at sign-off.

The MLC sets the minimum and prohibits agreements to forgo it, except where the flag state allows. Contracts handle the payment in different ways. The Philippine standard terms, for example, provide leave pay of at least 2.5 days per month of service, pro-rated, settled on board or within two weeks after arrival at the point of hire. Other contracts add a fixed 'leave pay' or 'leave subsistence' amount to every monthly account.

If your wage account shows no leave line at all, check your SEA. It should state the amount of paid annual leave or the formula used to calculate it. If leave pay is rolled into a consolidated wage, the contract should say so clearly. Our separate guide explains leave and shore leave rights in detail.

Short answer: anything beyond basic, overtime and leave pay should be listed by name, with the condition that triggers it. Common examples are tanker or dangerous cargo allowances, seniority or retention bonuses, war risk or high-risk area bonuses, and subsistence or victualling allowances.

These items are set by contract, CBA or company policy rather than the MLC itself, so they vary widely. The point to check is consistency: if your contract promises a high-risk area bonus when the ship enters a designated area, the wage account for that month should show it, with the number of days. Where a CBA applies, the bonus rules are usually in a specific article, and the ITF inspector or your union can help interpret it.

A practical tip: keep a short personal log of events that should trigger extra pay, such as days in a warlike operations area, extra cargo operations, or acting in a higher rank. It takes a minute a day and makes questioning a missing line at sign-off much easier.

Short answer: an allotment is a standing instruction for the company to pay part of your wages directly to a person or bank account you nominate, usually every month. The MLC requires shipowners to offer this, to remit it on time, and to keep fees reasonable.

For some nationalities, allotments are not optional. Under the Philippine standard terms (Section 8 of the POEA standard employment contract), Filipino seafarers must allot at least 80% of their monthly basic salary to a designated allottee through an authorised Philippine bank. Other countries have their own rules or none. Check your national requirements and the allotment clause in your SEA.

On the wage account, the allotment appears as a deduction from your on-board balance. If your family reports that a payment is late or short, compare the allotment line with the bank record and with the exchange rate used. Standard A2.2, paragraph 5 requires the exchange rate to be the prevailing market rate or the official published rate and not unfavourable to you. A rate that is consistently far below the market on transfer day is worth questioning in writing.

Short answer: legitimate deductions are those allowed by the contract, the CBA or national law, and you should be able to see each one by name. Common ones are cash advances on board, slop chest or bonded store purchases, phone or internet cards, union dues where applicable, and national social security or tax contributions where the law requires them.

What should not appear is any charge for being recruited or placed. Regulation 1.4 and Standard A1.4, paragraph 5(b) say no fees or other charges for recruitment or placement, or for providing employment, may be borne directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the seafarer, other than the cost of the national statutory medical certificate, the national seafarer's book and a passport or similar personal travel document, not including visas, which are borne by the shipowner. A 'processing fee', 'training bond' with no real training, or 'agency fee' deducted from your wages deserves a hard look.

Cash advances are a frequent source of confusion. Write down every advance you take, with the date, currency and amount, and compare with the account. Errors in recording a USD advance against a local currency, or a double entry, are common and easy to fix if caught early.

Short answer: compare four numbers each month: earnings against your wage scale, overtime against your signed overtime sheet, allotment against what arrived home, and closing balance against last month's balance plus this month's movements.

Step one: take the wage scale attached to your SEA and confirm basic, fixed overtime and leave pay match for your rank. Step two: if you are on hourly overtime, check that the hours match the sheet you endorsed. Step three: check the allotment line, its exchange rate and fee against the bank record at home. Step four: add up advances and slop chest items yourself. Step five: carry the closing balance forward and check that the next month starts from it.

If something is wrong, raise it with the master first, in writing if possible, while the account is fresh. If that fails, contact the company's crewing or payroll department. Persistent non-payment is a different problem, and the MLC gives you stronger tools for that, including the on-board complaint procedure under Regulation 5.1.5, port state control, and financial security for abandonment under Standard A2.5.2.

The easiest wage account to check is one built on a clear offer. Before you sign, ask for the full wage breakdown for your rank in writing: basic, fixed overtime and hours covered, leave days per month, allowances and the allotment method. A company that hires directly and publishes job details has fewer layers where numbers can change.

ShipCrewFinder lets you compare salary data by rank, check your offer with the free salary check, and apply directly to companies posting jobs with rank and vessel details. Crew profiles are free, and seafarers never pay a recruitment fee.