Abu Dhabi: Hiring a domestic helper has become dearer as the Ministry of Interior has increased the one-time security deposit an expatriate has to give for such a visa from Dh2,000 to Dh3,000. The deposit will be refunded when the visa is cancelled.
Copies of the decision have been sent to Ta’sheel (service provider) offices and branches in the country.
The ministry had increased the fee for bringing in domestic servants from Dh3,000 to Dh5,000 towards the end of last year and reduced the duration of the employee’s labour card from two years to one year.
The Federal National Council had approved a new domestic workers law in 2012, but it is still being studied by the Interior Ministry.
The ministry conducted a study on the fees for bringing in domestic workers and also included 19 types of job positions for which a domestic worker visa could be issued. They include house servant (maid), driver (chauffeur), watchman, cook, nanny and farmer (gardener).
The study focused on the real costs incurred by manpower recruitment agencies in the country in comparison with the fees charged from their clients. It also compared the fees levied by manpower recruitment agencies in the UAE and their counterparts in the GCC countries and studied the reasons for the differences among them.
New law
The proposed law on domestic workers makes it mandatory for manpower recruitment agencies to bear the expenses of repatriating an employee to his/her home country, and gives an option to them to take a deposit amount from the employer with a provision that the employer will not shoulder any additional costs, or the office will return the whole amount the employer has paid.
Repayment of this amount will be made in the following cases: if the employee proves to be professionally incompetent, if he/she personally misbehaves, if the employee is detected to have been sick prior to entering the UAE, if a female employee is found to be pregnant out of wedlock, or if the contract is terminated on the desire of the employee.
Under the provisions of the law, the placement agencies are not allowed to bring in workers from their respective countries without informing the workers clearly about the type and nature of work they will undertake and the all-inclusive wage. Besides, the agencies will also have to submit a medical fitness certificate to prove that the employee’s health, and psychological and professional condition is sound.
The draft law prohibits manpower recruitment offices from asking or accepting from any employee, whether directly before starting work or thereafter, any commission for getting the job or take fees for the medical tests 30 days prior to the employee entering the country… see more
source: businessinsider
Tags: Hiring Domestic Worker, laws, Security Deposit
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