UAE Suspends Short-Term Recruitment of Household Service Workers

Government officials on Tuesday (March 16) announced the suspension of hourly and daily maid services from Tadbeer in its effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Also Read: Rights of Domestic Workers in UAE

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), the short-term recruitment of maid services in the country has been temporarily suspended as part of the government’s precautionary measures against the spread of Covid-19.

UAE Suspends Short-Term Recruitment of Household Service Workers
Credits: drobotdean / Freepik

UAE Suspends Daily and Hourly Services of  Household Service Workers

In line with this, workers can now be hired for a minimum period of seven days. They are not allowed to be replaced or transferred during this period.

To ensure safety, the ministry added that household workers will also have to undergo a COVID PCR test before they are deployed. The test must be taken no more than 48 hours before the service schedule.

The ministry has also called on the Tadbeer centers to make arrangements for domestic workers so that they can get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Earlier, authorities announced that UAE residents can hire domestic helpers only from Tadbeer centres starting this month. The centres, whose services are regulated by MoHRE, have replaced the agencies for recruiting domestic helpers. Currently, there are 54 such centres across the country.

Under Tadbeer centers, domestic helpers can be hired through three packages, one of which is short-term recruitment.

The first package offers direct sponsorship from source countries to get a 3-month contract. Employers need to provide all meals, individual rooms, monthly salary and passport renewal requirements for domestic workers.

The second is Tadbeer sponsorship allowing employers to hire a domestic worker for 180 days wherein the company accepts all the costs for passport renewals, except for accommodation-related requirements.

Meanwhile, a third package ensures two-year contract recruitment. In this scheme, employers need to ensure accommodation, salary and other requirements, such as service ending benefits.

Last month, Mohre – in cooperation with E11 – introduced an upgraded version of the smart application ‘Tadbeer’ through which users can avail of all services related to domestic workers at any time and place.

READ NEXT: New Policy for Hiring Domestic Workers in UAE