National minimum wage equivalence declarations Section 4: Nature of declaration
Section 4 sets out the nature of an equivalence declaration. A declaration provided before the beginning of the relevant year will be to the effect that during the relevant year either there will be no non-qualifying seafarers working on ships providing the service, or non-qualifying seafarers working on ships providing the service will be paid at least the NMW equivalent for their UK work in relation to that service. "UK work" is defined in subsection (10) as being work which is carried out in the UK or its territorial waters. Subsections (3) to (5) make provision to allow equivalence declarations to be provided during and after the relevant year and for declarations to relate to part of a year.
	Subsection (6) provides that the NMW equivalent is an hourly rate set out in regulations. Regulations may make provision for:
the hourly rate at which a non-qualifying seafarer is remunerated in any period in respect of any work, and
whether, or the extent to which, a non-qualifying seafarer’s work in relation to the service is in the UK or its territorial waters.
	In making such regulations under this section, the Secretary of State must seek to secure that the amount of remuneration received by non-qualifying seafarers within scope of the Act is at least broadly equivalent, having regard to all the circumstances, to the remuneration they would have received had they qualified for the NMW.