Honor labor contracts or refund fee, agents told

RIYADH: The Ministry of Labor and Social Development announced here on Monday that agents found violating the agreement with Saudi sponsors in the recruitment of domestic aides will be asked to refund the fee.

The regulations in the recruitment contracts have been amended in keeping with the market needs, Abha Al-Khail, spokesman of the ministry, said.
“In case of breach of contract by the recruiting agent, either he should refund the money to the employer or replace the problematic domestic worker with a better one.”
He said the transfer of a worker or hiring of a domestic aid to a third party can only be done on completion of three-month probation period.
The ministry is working with the security authorities to monitor advertisements in the print and electronic media for domestic aides, said Al-Khail. “These advertisements can be published only after getting a clearance from the ministry,” he said.
The spokesman said that from time to time, the Kingdom enters into labor agreements with various labor exporting countries to meet the local demand for domestic aides.
Just before the month of Ramadan, the demand shoots up due to an increase in the workload in Saudi households.
Members of the public have been requested to contact the ministry’s phone 19911 for queries or complaints regarding domestic employment. They can also seek assistance by logging in to the ministry's website: www.mol.gov.sa