National Insurance for Mariners - Employers and payers of wages
As an employer or payer of Mariner(s) you will need to be aware of the National Insurance information for Mariners. This page explains when a mariner is liable to pay UK Class 1 National Insurance.If a mariner is liable for primary Class 1 "employee" National Insurance on their earnings, their employer, or the person paying the mariner their wages, will have to pay secondary Class 1 "employer" contributions, if that employer or payer lives in or has a place of business in the UK.
A payer in the UK is liable as the secondary contributor even where they are only acting as an agent for a foreign employer when they make the wages payments. This does not prevent you using UK based payroll agents to prepare payroll records and returns. If a payroll agent pays the wages in cash or owns or controls the bank account from which the funds are paid – they are a payer and a secondary contributor for National Insurance purposes.
Where both the employer and the person paying the wages is outside the UK, and these are genuine commercial relationships, there will not normally be a secondary contributor liable for "employer" contributions. However, if a mariner works wholly or mainly within Category A, B, C or D waters and the foreign employer supplies the mariner to a business in the UK, then that UK host business will be required to pay secondary Class 1.
You may find our leaflet CA42 useful Foreign-Going Mariner’s and Deep Sea Fisherman’s contributions for employers. (PDF 770K) This gives information about how to work out employer contributions but also some other general advice.
Contact us
Employer Helpline for general National Insurance enquiries.
This helpline can give you general advice about setting up and running a PAYE and National Insurance scheme.
Mariners
We have a special unit to advise mariners about National Insurance contributions. If you need additional information about whether a mariner has to pay contributions, you need an NI Number for a foreign mariner, or you are a foreign employer and would like to to set up a payment scheme on behalf of one of your employees - you can contact us. If you want, you can email us.
You can write to us at this address:
Marine NICs
HM Revenue and Customs
15th Floor East wing
Ty Glas Road
Llanishen
Cardiff
CF14 5FP
You can also telephone us. The number you call depends on the first letter of your surname.
| Surnames beginning | Number to call |
|---|---|
| A - B | +44 (0)29 2032 6043 |
| C-Da | +44 (0)29 2032 6124 |
| Db - Gl | +44 (0)29 2032 6329 |
| Go- K | +44 (0)29 2032 6979 |
| L - N | +44 (0)29 2032 6302 |
| O - SL | +44 (0)29 2032 6042 |
| SM – Z | +44 (0)29 2032 6419 |
To help us to advise you about your personal contributions position we will ask you to complete a Questionnaire giving information about you and the ship you work on. You can find the Mariners' Questionnaire (PDF 17K)
