Job brokers for non-Saudis face penalties

Cairo: Saudi labour authorities recently amended a list of violations including penalties for offices practising brokerage for employing foreigners if their licences are confined for providing jobs to Saudis only.

The illegal practice is categorised as a “gross violation”, according to Saudi news portal Akhbar24 that did not elaborate on the penalties.

The amendment, approved by the Ministry of Human Resources, obligates the offices and companies to set up an interactive website within six months from obtaining the licence, and their e-records should include registering contracts signed with employers, job applicants and the names of the establishments that they join.

According to the new rules, brokerage in child and underage employment is categorised a “gross violation” punishable by a fine of SR30,000 per each case.

Likewise, licensed firms and offices face penalties if they cooperate on labour recruitment with unlicensed or banned agencies inside or outside the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has recently sought to regulate the labour market and make it competitive.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has launched a series of initiatives to employ its nationals and replace foreign workers in several fields including education, telecommunications and real estate as part of a labour policy known as “Saudisation”. In mid-2022, ministerial decrees were announced restricting jobs in certain sectors to Saudis only. They covered, optics jobs, customer services, licensed aviation professions including co-pilots and air controllers, sales outlets and periodic checks of cars.

Last December, another decree localising employment for postal services and parcel transport across the country went into effect.

Saudi Arabia is also implementing a regional employment programme for its citizens.