Contributions · notifications

• Compulsory insurance also for seafarers
• Social insurance for seafarers
• Beiträge und Rechengrößen der Sozialversicherung
• Special notification procedure for seafarers
• Occupational accidents have to be reported
• European seafarers
• Non-Europeans
• Social security agreements
• Temporary employment as owner’s inspector
• Insurance under a foreign flag

Compulsory insurance applies to seafarers same as to employees ashore

For crew members on board of German flagged ships, who are domiciled in Germany, generally the same legal provisions for social security apply as for employees ashore. Therefore, there is no difference between seafarers and employees ashore as regards compulsory membership in the statutory insurance and exemption thereof as well as the related payments of contributions for health, nursing care, pension and unemployment insurance.

Exclusive to seafarers: contributions to the social insurance for seafarers ("Seemannskasse")

Contributions to the social insurance for seafarers ("Seemannskasse") are exclusively paid by seafarers. The social insurance for seafarers supplements the German social insurance system exclusively for seafarers to allow seafarers retirement from seafaring before they reach the statutory retirement age. Under certain circumstances and on application they can draw a bridging allowance of the same amount as the expected regular state pension payments. For further information please read our pages about the "Social insurance for seafarers".

Beiträge und Rechengrößen der Sozialversicherung

Special notification procedure for seafarers

Social security relevant data for each individual employee must be reported to the responsible health insurance fund. The notification procedure is prescribed with the German ordinance for data compilation and transmission (Datenerfassungs- und -übermittlungsverordnung, DEÜV). Special provisions apply to seafarers, whose notifications must also include details about the:

• occupational group,
• category of ship,
• certificate of competency, and
• legal basis of insurance (employment on ships registered in the first or second register, insurance by power of an area of the law, insurance on application).

Based on these additional data, the period of insurance is marked in the pension account as sea service to safeguard the entitlement to benefits from the social insurance for seafarers. In addition, the data serve statistical purposes as required by, e.g., the maritime alliance for training and education in ocean shipping („Maritime Bündnis für Ausbildung und Beschäftigung in der Seeschifffahrt“).

For further information on the procedures for notifications and payment of contributions is given on the website of the "Knappschaft" (in German only).

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Occupational accidents have to be reported

Employers are required to report occupational accidents of their employees if an accident causes an incapacity for work of more than three days or leads to the passing of the accident victim. There are several ways to report the accident:

1. on paper and digitally via the portal "BGdirekt" of the BG Verkehr or
2. via the online service portal of the German staturtory accident insurance DGUV

More information on the topic can be found under our heading "Accident insurance"

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Basic principle: German social security for European seafarers on board ships flying German flag

European seafarers (= from EU/EEA states as well as from the United Kingdom) on board ships flying the German flag are insured in the German statutory social insurance in general. Seafarers from EU or EEA states as well as from the UK are therefore on equal terms as German seafarers.

However, European seafarers can apply for a so called A1 form from the national social security authorities, if they are already covered by the social security of their home country in the EU or in the UK. In this case the seafarer is not subject to German social security.

Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and implementation Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 as well as the trade and cooperation agreement between the EU and the UK ensure that a double insurance is avoided and, for example, a seafarer’s acquired pension rights are secured even when working in European countries (ships under EU or UK flag).

As a rule no German social security for non-Europeans

Non-Europeans without place of residence in the EU, EEA or Switzerland who work on ships under German flag are exempt from the membership in the statutory health, nursing care and unemployment insurance.

In principle, pension insurance and the social insurance for seafarers are mandatory insurances for these seafarers. However, the obligation to insure can be lifted if the shipowner applies for it at Deutschen Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See (DRV-KBS) within 3 months of the foreign seafarer entering into employment. If the application is submitted after that, the exemption from pension insurance and the social insurance for seafarers of the affected seafarer will only start from the date of receipt of the application.

These provisions for non-European seafarers apply to all seagoing vessels under German flag – whether they are listed in the German shipping register (first register) or also listed in the German International shipping register (GIS, second register).

Further information about social security for non-European seafarers on German-flagged ships is given on the website of DRV-KBS.

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Germany’s social security agreements with other states

Germany has entered into bilateral social security agreements with numerous states. These agreements also affect the insurance of foreign seafarers onboard ships under German flag. Some agreements, for example, do not allow an exemption from the German health insurance or the relief from pension insurance on application.

The following table lists if an exemption from insurance of the individual insurance branches exists as well as if an exemption is possible from the German pension insurance:

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Temporary employment of seafarers as owner’s inspectors

The employment of seafarers as owner’s inspectors in shipyards is, with regard to statutory social security, regarded as an employment ashore. In order to avoid a gap in the qualifying period for the bridging allowance of the social insurance for seafarers, such employments ashore may, under the following conditions, be regarded as sea service:

1. The employment ashore must be temporary only. Temporary means that it is expected to last not more than 6 months. If it evolves at a later date that its duration will exceed 6 months, the sea service will be regarded as ending at that date. The period prior to that date will still be regarded as sea service.
2. The period of the temporary employment ashore must be consecutive to the service at sea.
3. After the temporary employment ashore the seafarer returns to permanent sea service.

If all three conditions are met, the employment is regarded as sea service, resulting in wages still being accounted for as seagoing staff. Contributions to the social insurance for seafarers during the employment ashore are calculated in accordance with section „G“ of the contribution tables by the BG Verkehr. In the calculation of the average wages during the employment ashore the catering rate is neglected. Entitlement to leave from the temporary employment ashore is determined in accordance with the consideration of this employment as sea service or service ashore.

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Insurance of German seafarers on ships flying a foreign flag

The normal cases are easy:

• German flag = German social security law
• Foreign flag = foreign social security law.

However, there are three exceptions: the insurance by power of an area of the law (Ausstrahlungsversicherung), mandatory insurance on application (Antragsversicherung) and mandatory insurance acc. to Art. 11 Para. 3 Letter e) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.

The insurance by power of an area of the law (Ausstrahlungsversicherung; also called Entsendung) has the following conditions:

• German or foreign seafarer with place of residence or habitual abode in Germany,
• employer established in Germany,
• fixed-term employment relationship on a foreign-flagged ship (for example during a temporary change to a foreign flag in accordance with § 7 of the German flag act (in German only)),
• no indication that the seafarer will not return to Germany after the end of the term of employment.

If all of these conditions are met, the seafarer is insured in all branches of the German social security. Specifics apply to the postings on ships under EU flag; in this case, EU law is prior.

In practice, insurance on application (Antragsversicherung) hardly ever applies and has the following conditions:

• German shipowner established in Germany,
• German seafarer,
• work onboard a ship under foreign flag, which is either registered in the German shipping register or in a foreign register + the shipowner holds a majority of the beneficial ownership of the ship.

In these cases, the shipowner has to apply for an inclusion of his German seafarers in the German social security. The shipowner can choose the extent of this insurance:

• in all social security branches or
• only in health, nursing care, pension and unemployment insurance as well as the social insurance for seafarers (i.e. without accident insurance).

An obligation of insurance acc. to Art. 11 Para. 3 Letter e) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 has to be verified if the conditions for an insurance by power of an area of the law (Ausstrahlungsversicherung) are not met, for example, because the employment relationship is with a foreign employer in another EU/EEA member state or Switzerland and work is performed on a ship flying a foreign flag of a third country.

According to a judgement of the European Court of Justice of 08.05.2019 (C-631/17), for a person  

• who is a national of an EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland,
• who is employed as seafarer on-board a ship flying the flag of a third state and
• whose employer's location is in a different member state as the domicile member state of the seafarer

the social security rights of the domicile member state of the seafarer apply (Art. 11 Para. 3 Letter e) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).

If a seafarer starts to work for an employer with the location in a member state on a ship flying the flag of a third state and keeps the permanent residence in the original member state, acc. to the judgement of the European Court of Justice, the national law of the domicile member state of the seafarer applies.

In this case, for seafarers with their residence in Germany, German social security law applies.

During the verification of the residence or habitual residence, the actual circumstances are decisive. In cases of any doubt, the centre of the person's life (personal, family-related and economic ties in the country) counts.

Foreign employers with employees falling under German social security obligations have to employ an authorized person who is obliged to maintain and store wage doucmentation in the German language for company audits.

The “Knappschaft” published a leaflet about insurance by power of an area of the law, insurance on application and mandatory insurance.

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