Singapore legislation
Section 22
Section 22
Entitlement to annual leave
(1)
A seafarer is entitled to paid annual leave, taken at such time as may be agreed between the seafarer and the shipowner in accordance with the terms of the seafarer’s employment agreement, of at least 2.5 days per month of continuous service with the shipowner which is in addition to leave that the seafarer is entitled under subsection (4).
(2)
A seafarer is entitled to his or her gross rate of pay for every day of annual leave.
(3)
A seafarer who has served a shipowner for a period shorter than 12 months of continuous service in any year or in the event of termination of employment otherwise than for misconduct, is entitled to annual leave in proportion to the number of completed months of service in that year.
(4)
Leave of absence granted for the following purposes is not counted as part of a seafarer’s annual leave:
time that seafarer is in transit to or from a ship, or on active stand‑by for immediate deployment;
time‑off given for illness, injury or maternity;
temporary shore leave by agreement between the shipowner and the seafarer under the seafarer’s employment agreement;
public holidays designated under the Holidays Act 1998;
absence from work to attend a maritime vocation training course that is approved by the Director;
time spent awaiting repatriation and travel time during repatriation;
leave granted under conditions that may be determined by the Director from time to time.
(5)
Where a seafarer is granted leave of absence without pay by the shipowner at the request of the seafarer, the period of the leave is disregarded for the purpose of computing continuous service under this section.
(6)
A seafarer is entitled to take annual leave in the place to which the seafarer has a substantial connection or is entitled to be repatriated.
(7)
A person must not require a seafarer to take annual leave in a place otherwise than that provided in the seafarer’s employment agreement unless —
the seafarer gives consent;
the shipowner bears the costs of transporting the seafarer to the place where the seafarer was engaged or recruited, whichever is nearer the seafarer’s home; and
the shipowner bears the subsistence and all other directly related costs.
(8)
A person must not recall a seafarer who is on paid annual leave except in cases of extreme emergency as may be determined by the Director from time to time and provided that the seafarer’s consent has been obtained.
(9)
The shipowner must grant and the seafarer must take annual leave not later than 12 months after the end of every 12 months of continuous service and any seafarer who fails to take that leave by the end of such period ceases to be entitled to the leave.
(10)
Subject to subsection (9) and unless otherwise provided in an agreement applicable to the shipowner and the seafarer concerned, the seafarer is entitled to an uninterrupted period of annual leave.
(11)
In calculating the proportionate annual leave under subsection (3), any fraction of a day which is less than one‑half of a day is disregarded and where the fraction of the day is one‑half or more it is regarded as one day.