Ministry fines 40 maid recruitment agencies for 140 legal violations

DUBAI: The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) announced that 40 Domestic Worker Recruitment Offices in the UAE were penalised during the first half of 2025, with administrative and financial legal measures taken against them after confirming approximately 140 violations of the Labour Law concerning Domestic Workers and its Implementing Regulations.

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The ministry asserted that it would show no leniency with any Domestic Worker Recruitment Office proven to have committed legal or administrative violations and transgressions. It clarified that repeated violations by said Offices and noncompliance with the legal regulations governing their operations expose them to strict and more severe penalties, which may include cancellation of their licences.

In a press statement, MoHRE explained that continuous monitoring of Domestic Worker Recruitment Offices' operations in the UAE forms part of its efforts to sustain labour market regulations, enhance these Offices' competitiveness and leadership, and respond promptly to employer and family complaints regarding their work.

These objectives are achieved through the efficient application of field-based and digital monitoring systems to flag and contain violations, while ensuring strict compliance among these Offices with the legislation regulating their work.

The ministry indicated that the majority of recorded violations consisted of failure to refund all or part of the recruitment fees to employers dealing with them within the specified period of two weeks from the date the Domestic Worker was brought back to the recruitment office, or from the date the domestic worker was reported to have stopped working. Infringements also included noncompliance with displaying ministry-approved service package prices clearly to clients.