(A practical legal article in Philippine context)

1) What “sickness allowance” means for Filipino seafarers

For Filipino seafarers, sickness allowance is the temporary wage replacement paid by the shipowner/employer when a seafarer is signed off or repatriated due to illness or injury and is undergoing medical treatment after disembarkation.

It is not the same as:

Disability benefits (a lump sum/graded compensation if the condition results in permanent disability under the contract or CBA), or
SSS sickness benefit (a state benefit that depends on SSS coverage and contributions), or
Company “sick leave” in land-based employment.

In maritime practice, the key concept is that sickness allowance bridges the income gap while the seafarer is under the company-designated medical management and the case is still being evaluated.

2) The main legal sources in the Philippines

Your entitlements are usually determined by a stack of rules, applied in this order:

A. The employment contract (most often the POEA/DMW Standard Employment Contract)

Historically, overseas seafarers’ minimum terms were set by the POEA Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC), which remains the framework many still refer to in claims and jurisprudence. Today, the regulator is the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), but the same idea remains: the “standard” contract supplies minimum protections that parties cannot legally reduce.

Core contract benefits typically include:

Employer-paid medical treatment (through a company-designated physician/clinic)
Repatriation (and in some cases, repatriation of remains)
Sickness allowance while unfit for work and under treatment, subject to conditions
Disability compensation if the condition becomes permanent/assessed

B. Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

If the vessel is covered by a union CBA (common for many fleets), the CBA may improve benefits, such as:

Longer payment period (often beyond the “standard” cap)
Higher wage basis or inclusions
Better disability schedules

Where applicable, CBA provisions can be a game-changer, but they usually apply only if the seafarer is within the bargaining unit/covered vessel and the CBA is part of the contract package.

C. Philippine labor and social legislation (contextual and sometimes supplementary)

Labor Code principles on money claims, illegal deductions, jurisdiction, evidence, and prescription
SSS law (for SSS sickness benefit if the seafarer is covered and qualified)
PhilHealth (health coverage rules are separate from sickness allowance wage replacement)
ECC/Employees’ Compensation is typically more relevant to local employment; seafaring OFW cases usually pivot on the contract/CBA rather than ECC.

D. International maritime standards (influence)

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006 strongly influences shipboard welfare norms globally (including medical care and sick pay). Even when your claim is filed in the Philippines, MLC standards often serve as interpretive background—but your enforceable monetary benefits usually still come from the contract/CBA and Philippine case law.

3) Who is entitled to sickness allowance?

A seafarer is generally entitled when all of these are true:

The seafarer was signed off / disembarked / repatriated for medical reasons (illness or injury), and
The seafarer complied with mandatory post-employment procedures, and
The seafarer is declared unfit for work or requires treatment under the employer’s designated medical management (until fit-to-work or disability assessment).

Work-related vs non-work-related

In many Philippine maritime contract regimes, compensability often turns on whether the illness/injury is work-related (or at least not excluded). Some regimes create a presumption of work-relatedness for listed occupational diseases or work-aggravated conditions, but this is frequently litigated: employers argue “non-work-related,” seafarers argue “work-related or work-aggravated.”

Practical point: sickness allowance is commonly tied to the employer’s obligation to provide treatment and wage support while the case is being medically managed after repatriation.

4) The compliance requirements that can make or break a claim

Philippine maritime claims are procedural. Even a serious illness can be denied if the seafarer misses critical steps.

A. Mandatory post-employment medical examination (the “3-day rule”)

A widely applied rule is that the seafarer must report to the company-designated physician within three (3) working days from arrival in the Philippines (or from repatriation), unless physically incapacitated and properly excused/documented.

Non-compliance risk: Failure to report within the period is commonly treated as a ground to forfeit certain contractual benefits, including sickness allowance and disability compensation—unless the seafarer can prove a valid reason (e.g., confinement, incapacity, force majeure) and timely notice.

B. Continuing treatment and cooperation

Sickness allowance is commonly conditioned on the seafarer:

Attending follow-ups,
Submitting to tests, and
Cooperating with reasonable medical management.

Employers often stop payments when they allege “non-cooperation,” so documentation matters.

5) How much is sickness allowance? (Typical computation)

Common baseline rule

Under many standard maritime contract regimes, sickness allowance is paid at a rate equivalent to the seafarer’s basic wage for the period the seafarer is medically unfit and under treatment, subject to a maximum period.

What wage components are included?

This is one of the most litigated details. The usual outcomes depend on contract/CBA language:

Basic wage only (common baseline)
Basic wage + certain fixed allowances (only if the contract/CBA clearly includes them)
Overtime is typically not included unless expressly guaranteed as part of the wage basis.

Rule of thumb: if it’s not clearly part of the guaranteed wage base in the contract/CBA, expect the employer to contest inclusion.

6) How long is sickness allowance paid? (The time limits)

Typical cap (contract-based)

A common cap in standard contracts is up to 120 days of sickness allowance, tied to the medical management period. Some CBAs extend coverage (sometimes up to 180 days or other negotiated periods).

Interaction with the “120/240-day doctrine”

Philippine jurisprudence on seafarers’ disability claims developed rules around:

120 days as the general period for treatment and assessment, and
Possible extension up to 240 days in justified cases (e.g., ongoing treatment requiring more time), after which the disability may be considered permanent if unresolved/undiagnosed for final assessment.

Important distinction:

The disability determination timeline (120/240) is about when a condition becomes legally “permanent” for disability compensation purposes.
The sickness allowance cap is often separately stated in the contract/CBA and may not automatically extend just because treatment extends—unless the contract/CBA says it does or jurisprudence applies it in your fact pattern.

7) When does sickness allowance start and stop?

Start

Usually starts from sign-off/repatriation due to medical reasons (or from arrival, depending on contract wording and company practice), provided the seafarer complies with post-employment reporting.

Stop

Typically stops on the earliest of:

A fit-to-work declaration by the company-designated physician, or
A final disability assessment (with grading/benefit determination), or
Reaching the maximum allowable period for sickness allowance under the contract/CBA, or
Proven non-compliance/non-cooperation with medical management.

8) The medical assessment system: designated doctor, seafarer’s doctor, and “third doctor”

This is central in Philippine seafarer cases.

A. Company-designated physician

The employer typically has the right (and duty) to provide the designated physician who manages treatment and issues:

Fit-to-work certification, or
Disability grading/assessment.

B. Seafarer’s chosen physician

If the seafarer disagrees, the seafarer may consult a personal doctor. The personal doctor’s opinion matters—but disputes often arise because employers argue only the designated doctor has contractual authority.

C. Third-doctor referral (dispute resolution mechanism)

Many standard contracts/CBAs provide that if there is a disagreement between:

the company-designated physician and
the seafarer’s physician,

the parties should refer the conflict to a third doctor, whose decision is often treated as final and binding (depending on contract wording and case law application).

Practical warning: Failing to invoke or cooperate with the third-doctor mechanism—when the contract requires it—can seriously weaken a seafarer’s disability claim and can also spill into disputes over sickness allowance continuation.

9) Common grounds employers use to deny or limit sickness allowance

Expect these arguments:

Late reporting / violation of the 3-working-day rule
Condition is not work-related or is excluded (e.g., willful act, concealment/misrepresentation, pre-existing not aggravated by work)
Non-cooperation with designated treatment plan
Seafarer was fit to work but refused reassignment
Payments already reached the maximum contractual period
The claim is actually a disability claim being mislabeled as sickness allowance (employer will push for a closed period)

10) Relationship to disability benefits (very important)

Sickness allowance is temporary. If the condition does not resolve, the dispute often becomes about permanent disability compensation, which may be:

Contract-based disability schedule (grade-based), or
CBA disability schedule (often more generous), and/or
In some cases, total and permanent disability under the 120/240-day jurisprudential framework.

A seafarer can receive sickness allowance first, then later pursue disability compensation if warranted by medical assessment and legal standards.

11) SSS sickness benefit: can seafarers also claim it?

Potentially yes, but it’s a separate system with different requirements.

Key differences

SSS sickness benefit depends on coverage and contributions and requires compliance with SSS rules (e.g., sufficient contributions, notification, confinement/number of days, etc.).
Many seafarers are treated as OFWs/voluntary members; eligibility depends on actual contribution history and compliance.

Can you receive both SSS sickness benefit and contractual sickness allowance?

This can become tricky because:

Some employers view SSS benefits as separate and do not credit them automatically.
Some arrangements may allow coordination/offset depending on policy/contract wording.

Practical approach: treat them as distinct claims and document both, but be prepared for coordination issues.

12) Where and how claims are pursued in the Philippines

A. NLRC (labor tribunal)

Many monetary claims arising from the seafarer’s overseas employment (contract-based) are pursued through the NLRC.

B. Voluntary arbitration (if CBA requires it)

If the dispute is covered by a CBA arbitration clause, the proper forum may be voluntary arbitration.

C. Evidence that usually decides cases

Medical repatriation documents, logbook/incident reports
POEA/DMW contract, contract extensions, CBA
Proof of reporting within required period
Company clinic records and final assessment
Seafarer’s independent medical findings
Proof of expenses and correspondence (emails, messages, notices)

13) Prescription (deadlines)

Money claims in Philippine labor context are commonly subject to a 3-year prescriptive period, counted from the time the cause of action accrued (often the time the benefit became due and demandable). In seafarer disputes, accrual can be debated (e.g., from final medical assessment, from cessation of payments, from fit-to-work declaration, etc.).

Practical point: Treat delays as risky—prescription issues can be technical and fact-specific.

14) Practical checklist for seafarers (to protect sickness allowance)

Upon arrival/repatriation: report to the agency/employer promptly and follow written instructions.
Comply with the 3-working-day medical reporting rule (or document incapacity if you cannot).
Keep every paper: discharge summary, boarding passes, clinic schedules, receipts, referrals.
Attend appointments and keep proof of attendance.
If disagreeing with the company doctor, secure a second opinion early and know whether your contract/CBA requires third-doctor referral.
Track payments (dates, amount, wage basis) and the cap under your contract/CBA.
If payments stop, document the reason given and your rebuttal actions immediately.

15) Key takeaways

In Philippine seafaring practice, sickness allowance is contract-driven and highly procedural.
The biggest “deal-breakers” are usually late reporting, non-cooperation, and medical assessment disputes mishandled (especially where a third-doctor mechanism exists).
CBA coverage often improves duration/amount and can change the forum (arbitration).
Sickness allowance is temporary; unresolved cases typically evolve into disability compensation litigation under the contract/CBA and jurisprudential timelines.

If you want, paste (1) the sickness allowance clause of the contract/CBA and (2) the timeline of repatriation-to-treatment events, and I can map your exact entitlement triggers, likely employer defenses, and what documents would carry the most weight in a Philippine forum.