Saudi Arabia penalises domestic help recruitment firms over violations

Cairo: Saudi labour authorities have imposed penalties on nine companies for violating the rules of recruiting domestic workers.

The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources said those firms had infringed regulations linked to service provision by exceeding the cost limits of hiring domestic workers specified on a government platform.

The ministry obligated the violating businesses to refund the undue money to the beneficiaries.

Rules on recruitment and providing labour services stipulate that the licensee shall take into account the value of the money received in exchange for mediating in recruitment and offering transfer services according to the caps specified by the ministry.

The ministry said its action is part of its efforts to protect employers’ rights and enhance transparency in the recruitment sector.

Recently, Saudi authorities have sought to regulate the domestic labour market.

To this end, the Ministry of Human Resources launched Musaned, a platform for domestic labour affairs, to inform customers about their rights, duties, and services, including visa issuance, recruitment requests, and contracts between employers and workers. The ministry emphasises that contracting should occur via Musaned, the official recruitment platform.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia unveiled new rules for employing domestic workers, setting the minimum age at 21 to preserve contractual rights.

The regulations state that dues owed to workers, or their heirs, are considered first-degree debts. Contracts must have a fixed duration; if not, they will be deemed renewable for one year from the worker’s start date.