Saudi Arabia has banned employers from charging any fees to their domestic workers, including for recruitment and work permits, setting maximum penalties of a fine worth 20,000 riyals and a three-year ban on hiring, according to the Saudi Gazette.
The Saudi outlet reported on Monday that employers were banned from “charging any fees from their domestic workers”, including those “related to recruitment, change of professions, transfer of services, residency permit (iqama) and work permits”.
[]!(https://x.com/Saudi_Gazette/status/1980650532793643114)
Saudi Gazette said the provisions were included in the “Guide to the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Workers”, issued by the Saudi human resources ministry. It added that the new regulations “include a package of rights that guarantee the domestic worker a decent life and a stable work environment”.
According to the guide, professions permitted by law in the domestic worker sector include “domestic worker, private driver, and specialised professions such as home nurse, cook, tailor, butler, supervisor, and house manager, as well as home guard, personal assistant, farmer, physical therapist, and home coffee maker”.
The guidelines also allow the addition of any other profession that may fall under the duties of domestic workers, the report added.
“It is also stipulated that domestic workers shall be disbursed with their wages according to the unified contract signed with the employer,” Saudi Gazette said, adding that the new guidelines stress workers’ right to a weekly rest day agreed upon in the contract.
The provisions also include “daily rest hours of no less than eight continuous hours, in addition to a full month’s leave after completing two years of continuous work if the worker wishes to renew the work contract”.
In 2008, the Human Rights Watch called on Saudi Arabia to improve labour law protections and end its “sponsorship” system to prevent domestic workers from being treated like slaves.
Under the “sponsorship” system, also known as the “Kafala” system, foreigners in Saudi Arabia obtain a visa through their employer, who usually retains their passports.
More to follow
