“Human Resources and Emiratisation” authorized “offices” to recruit workers from outside its lists

The guarantee of domestic workers does not apply to cases of "recruitment by name".

The recruitment office is obligated to conduct the necessary medical examinations for the domestic worker within a period not exceeding 30 days.

Photography: Patrick Castillo

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation confirmed that labor recruitment offices can provide the service of recruiting a “specified by name” helper worker from outside the list of domestic helpers registered with the office in the event that the client (the employer) requests to bring in a specific worker, based on his will and knowledge, from his country to work for him. Stressing that this procedure deprives the employer of the advantage of obtaining a guarantee for the domestic worker for a period of two years.

The Ministry stated in the latest issue of its “Labour Market” magazine that recruitment offices are obligated to provide a two-year (24-month) “guarantee” for the domestic helpers that they recruit with their knowledge and include them in the lists registered with them, so that this guarantee is activated if the helper By discontinuing work, or refusing to work in accordance with the terms and conditions, explaining that the employer has the right during this period to recover the full cost of recruitment or replace the helper without paying any additional fees, in the event that the professional lack of competence and good personal behavior of the helper is proven, or the worker is proven to be unfit The health assistant according to what is determined by the competent authorities in the country, or the termination of the contract at the will of the helper or because of him, because the conditions agreed upon in this worker were not met, and also in the event that the helper left the work in conditions other than those authorized.

And according to Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 regarding domestic service workers, the employer has the right to recover the full fees he paid to the recruitment office in the event that the domestic worker is returned during the first six months, which is known as the “trial period”, while he has the right to recover part of the fees. Recruitment paid to the recruitment agency after the first six months have passed in the event that the helper does not want to work without a legitimate reason, or the helper stops working without a legitimate reason.

And she stressed that the recruitment office is committed to conducting the necessary medical examinations for the domestic worker within a period not exceeding 30 days prior to his entry into the country, in order to ensure that he is fit for the work that he will perform in terms of his physical, mental and psychological ability, and that he does not suffer from any chronic or contagious disease. According to the cases determined by the medical authorities accredited in the country, or from any health conditions that reduce his ability to complete the work.

The Ministry noted that the officially approved domestic worker recruitment contract form regulated a number of obligations between the domestic worker recruitment office and the employer, most notably the conditions that the employer sets for the domestic worker whom the office is assigned to recruit, as well as the basic rights and obligations that the employer is committed to towards the worker, especially The type of work and the amount of wages, in addition to the financial obligations necessary for the helper’s transfer from his country to the state, and in exchange for the services due to the office, pointing out that the work contract must include the names of its parties, the place of work, the date of its conclusion, the date of work commencement, its type, the duration of the contract, and the amount of wages. , the basic wage, the method of payment, the permitted leaves for the domestic worker, the probationary period, if any, periods of rest, and cases that may result in the termination of the contract, in addition to any other conditions required by the nature of the work, provided that they are included in the contract form approved by the Ministry.

She explained that if the office for the recruitment of domestic workers violates the conditions agreed upon in the stipulated contract, the employer has the right to refuse to employ the domestic worker that he recruited, and to request the provision of an alternative domestic worker, or to recover the recruitment fees, noting that the work contract is for a fixed-term period of two years. It may be renewed for the same period, and in the event that the two parties continue to implement the terms of the contract after the expiry of its original term, the original contract is considered implicitly extended under the same conditions contained therein, including the period, and it is permissible with the consent of the two parties to terminate the contract before the expiry of its term. 

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