The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has announced access to
grandfather rights for fishing medicals is to be extended until
spring 2024 for seasonal fishers.
It means that fishers who do not work over the winter will now
have up until 30 April 2024 to get their medical certificate in
place. This extension also applies for those seasonal fishers who
have a pre-existing medical condition which still allows them to
work and who want to apply for grandfather rights.
The MCA says fishers should still make their appointments as soon
as possible but seasonal workers will not have to meet the
deadline of 30 November.
However, all those who are working at any point across the winter
will need to be in the system – i.e. have booked an appointment –
by that deadline. The extension does not alter the coming into
force date of medical certification which remains as the end of
this month.
In addition, the MCA says it will also apply grandfather rights
for those whose eyesight meets international standards even if it
doesn’t meet the UK’s, which have been historically higher.
The MCA has also announced a new pilot project to consider
certain insulin-treated solo fishers the opportunity to continue
working if they sign up for the scheme. The scheme is open to
solo fishers with a stable condition who use non-invasive blood
glucose monitoring. The aim is to provide evidence for a future
review of the medical standard in this regard.
It will be based on an ongoing study by the Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA) which classes pilots who are insulin-treated to
be fit to fly under certain conditions, subject to regular blood
glucose monitoring.
Following representations from the industry about the cost of
additional testing, the requirement for a fitness test for those
with a BMI between 35 and 40 (and who have no other related
medical conditions) has been removed.
Virginia McVea, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard
Agency said:
We want fishers to come home safely. They work in extremely
dangerous conditions and our commitment to their safety remains
absolute.
These requirements are the result of UK government agreement with
international standards through the Work in Fishing Convention
and we continue to do all we can to support the industry to
comply.
Background
Fishers intending to work during the winter must have a medical
certificate by the 30 November 2023 or at least be in the system
by having an appointment by that date.
Fishers who do not work over the winter will not need a medical
fitness certificate until they start working again and do not
need an exemption in the meantime. Under this new guidance, they
will still be able to benefit from grandfather rights until the
end of April.
Grandfather rights apply to existing fishers with long term,
stable or well controlled medical conditions which do not meet
the current medical standards of MSN 1886. They allow the fisher
to continue to carry out an occupation they have been engaged in
safely prior to the introduction of the requirement for a medical
fitness certificate, where they can do so without significant
risk to their own or others’ health and safety.
Currently, grandfather rights are only applicable if a fisher
applies before 30 November 2023. During the MCA medical roadshows
in Northern Ireland and Scotland, it was noted that a lot of
inshore fishing vessels stop fishing over the winter and that
these fishers are unlikely to apply for a medical in November
when they do not need one until March 2024 to work on board. This
led to the decision to extend the deadline for these particular
fishermen to 30 April 2024.
This is not an extension of the coming into force date for a
medical fitness certificate; that will remain as 30 November 2023
and will apply to any fishers who will be working at that time.
However, it will provide some breathing space for those who do
not need a certificate until they start fishing again in the
Spring but were afraid they would then miss out on the extra
flexibility provided by eligibility for grandfather rights. It
will also help to distribute the high number of fishers still
requiring medical examinations in certain areas over a longer
period, thereby taking pressure off local medical facilities.
This should help to address complaints about difficulties in
obtaining appointments.
The term ‘inshore’ fishing vessel in this context refers to those
which work within the UK’s 200 nautical mile limit, and who are
at sea for less than 72 hours at a time, and so can use an ML5
medical certificate instead of an ENG1.
