Interior HR & Crew Wellbeing

Independent study. xplor is not an IAMI- or PYA-accredited GUEST training provider. This course covers the ground assessed in GUEST Unit 30; it awards no GUEST unit, certificate or Certificate of Competency and does not count toward one. It is not legal or clinical advice.

Free

INT-HR-1 · The Employment Framework: MLC 2006, Contracts and Who Employs You

4 lessons

INT-HR-1.1 MLC 2006 and Seafarer Protection Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-1.1.1

MLC 2006: What It Actually Guarantees Seafarers

MLC 2006 is the international convention that sets the floor for seafarer employment rights, organised into five Titles covering everything from contracts and wages to accommodation and complaints. As a manager you need to know what it guarantees, where the yacht evidences compliance, and when to defer to the flag state and the seafarer employment agreement.

INT-HR-1.1.2

Hours of Rest, Leave, Repatriation and Living Standards

Rest hours, leave, repatriation and living standards are the practical core of MLC Title 2 and Title 3. The manager plans rosters that make lawful rest achievable, keeps honest records, and reads the seafarer employment agreement rather than quoting remembered figures.

INT-HR-1.2 Employer, Flag State and the Contract Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-1.2.1

Who Actually Employs You: Owner, Manager, Agency and Flag

The owning company, the management company, the crew agency and the flag state all play different roles, and only one party is the employer or shipowner named in the seafarer employment agreement. Managers must be able to read that off a contract and point crew to the right route when something goes wrong.

INT-HR-1.2.2

The Seafarer Employment Agreement: Rotation, Notice, Wages and Tax

The seafarer employment agreement is the document that decides wages, notice, leave, rotation and repatriation, and MLC sets out what it must contain. Managers should be able to help crew read a contract critically while making clear that legal and tax questions go to a professional.

INT-HR-2 · Recruiting, Onboarding and Building an Interior Team

4 lessons

INT-HR-2.1 Recruiting the Interior Team Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-2.1.1

Defining the Role and Sifting CVs

Good interior hiring starts before the first CV: define the gap, write honest non-negotiables and conditions, and sift against written criteria rather than instinct. Bias-aware, recorded sifting produces stronger teams and defensible decisions.

INT-HR-2.1.2

Interviewing Lawfully, Trials and References

Structured, scored interviews and paid, well-briefed daywork trials select better crew than unstructured chats. Certain questions — about family, age, nationality, health, religion and sexual orientation — are unlawful in many jurisdictions and tell you nothing about the job.

INT-HR-2.2 Onboarding, Development and Leaving Well Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-2.2.1

Onboarding, the First Week and Setting Expectations

A structured first week — safety familiarisation, paperwork, systems, standards and an early feedback conversation — is the cheapest retention tool an interior manager has. Most early resignations come from a bad onboarding, not a bad job.

INT-HR-2.2.2

Training, Retention, Resignation and Dismissal

Training plans and honest Interior Training Record Book sign-off are the backbone of development and retention, and GUEST is governed by IAMI rather than the PYA. Resignation deserves a real exit conversation, and dismissal requires documentation, warnings, a chance to improve and a fair hearing.

INT-HR-3 · Leading People Onboard

3 lessons

INT-HR-3.1 Leading a Live-Aboard Team Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-3.1.1

Leadership vs Management, and Leading Former Peers

Management makes the department run; leadership makes people want it to run, and a Chief Stewardess needs both. Being promoted from within a team requires naming the change openly, resetting the rules once for everyone, and being scrupulously fair on the visible things.

INT-HR-3.1.2

Motivation, Feedback and Appraisals

Motivating a live-aboard team runs on progress, autonomy, fairness, real rest and specific recognition rather than perks. Feedback should be timely, specific and two-way, and nothing raised in an appraisal should ever come as a surprise.

INT-HR-3.2 Conflict, Difficult Conversations and Performance Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-3.2.1

Cliques, Conflict and the Difficult Conversation

Conflict onboard compounds rather than dissipates, so it must be handled early, privately and with an agreed, recorded outcome. The difficult conversation is prepared, specific about behaviour and impact, and stops immediately if a wellbeing or safeguarding issue emerges.

INT-HR-4 · Wellbeing, Safeguarding and the Hard Conversations

4 lessons

INT-HR-4.1 Fatigue and Mental Health Onboard Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-4.1.1

Fatigue and the Reality of Charter Season

Fatigue erodes judgement, mood and self-assessment before anyone notices, so it must be managed through the roster rather than left to individual willpower. Managers roster rest first, keep honest records, rotate the worst duties, and escalate manning shortfalls rather than absorbing them.

INT-HR-4.1.2

Mental Health Onboard: Noticing, Listening, Signposting

A HOD is not a clinician, and the job is to notice changes, listen without fixing, be honest about the limits of confidentiality, and signpost professional help such as a doctor, an employee assistance programme or ISWAN. Never diagnose, never treat, and escalate immediately where there is any risk to life.

INT-HR-4.2 Harassment, Complaints and Crew Culture Practice in examiner →

INT-HR-4.2.1

Bullying and Harassment: Definitions, Reporting and Obligations

Bullying and harassment are defined by their effect rather than the intent behind them, and yachts must have a policy, a complaint route that bypasses the alleged harasser, prompt investigation and protection from retaliation. Seniority, commercial value or guest status never changes the obligation, and criminal conduct is a police matter, not an HR one.

INT-HR-4.2.2

Complaints, Substances, Health and a Speak-Up Culture

The MLC onboard complaint procedure must be fair, expeditious, usable without victimisation, and able to bypass the HOD and go ashore. Managers apply the drug and alcohol policy consistently, protect crew physical health and connection to home, and build a culture where small concerns are welcomed so that serious ones get raised.

Aligned to the IAMI GUEST Program framework. Preparatory study only — assessment and certification are carried out by an approved GUEST Training Provider. Official source (GUEST Program).

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