Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the updated guidance on Chapter 17, Section 4: Continental Shelf Workers of the Immigration Rules published by the Home Office on 12 April 2023, whether Continental Shelf Workers on contracts in the UK oil and gas sector are entitled to the National Minimum Wage.

National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation applies to those who work or ordinarily work in the UK and those Seafarers exploiting and exploring the UK part of the continental shelf are entitled to the UK National Minimum Wage, as well as to some workers on UK-registered ships. We have a proud record of extending the NMW to seafarers.

In October 2020, legislation came into force to extend the right to the minimum wage to all seafarers on domestic voyages in the UK territorial sea and to those working in the UK part of the continental shelf.

We will continue to consider the needs of all sectors of the economy and take measures where these are needed, taking an evidence-based approach.