Cabinet approves 2020 domestic helpers recruitment bylaw
shaheennews
The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed the 2020 non-Jordanian domestic workers bylaw addressing a number of issues, including the worker’s escape from the employer or refusal to work within 90 days after entering the Kingdom.
Under the new legislation, recruitment agencies are now required to refund the employer within 14 days in the abovementioned cases or recruit another foreign worker from inside or outside the Kingdom.
Under these scenarios, the employer will not be liable for any additional costs and will also be eligible for indemnification for the remainder of the contract period.
Furthermore, the bylaw bans domestic workers’ recruitment but only through licensed agencies in countries with which Jordan has agreements regulating this process.
In a statement, Minister of Labor Nidal Batayneh said the bill aims to define the responsibilities of all stakeholders, including recruitment agencies, employers and workers. It also, he added, seeks to address previous imbalances that have adversely affected citizens’ and public sector’s rights.
Additionally, the bylaw introduces a mechanism to liquidate bank-held bonds of non-abiding recruitment firms and obliges them to pay for the expenses of moving the worker to another employer inside the Kingdom, the minister said.
Batayneh indicated that the legislation requires recruitment agencies to deport the female worker if it is found that she was pregnant or if she/he is infected with an infectious disease or is unable to discharge her/his work within the first 90 days after entry to the Kingdom.
In these cases, Batayneh said, the law requires that the deportation process be completed within 7 working days after the issuance of medical tests by the Ministry of Health and without the employer being incurred any additional costs.
Under the bylaw, the receipt, given to the employer proving his/ her payment of recruitment charges, shall be valid for an 8-month period regardless if the worker entered or did not enter the Kingdom, the minister explained.
He said that if the worker did not enter the Kingdom within two months of the contract signing, the recruitment agency will cancel the entry visa and will be required to refund the employer the total value of the receipt within three days.
In addition, the bylaw allows the employer to use the same receipt for two additional times to recruit or move his/her worker. The employer may reclaim the full value of the receipt from the Ministry of Finance within 60 days after the cancelation of the visa if the worker is not brought to the Kingdom or if he/she [employer] wishes not to use the receipt.
With regard to new licensing and renewal of existing licenses, the bill requires that the recruitment agency be an individual enterprise or a registered Jordanian firm. The agency shall also provide a JD60,000 bank bond renewable annually. The bond increases to JD80,000 if the license holder seeks a second license, according to the minister.
He explained that the bond value increases by JD20,000 for each new license or if the license is registered in the name of the owner, his/her spouse or first-degree relative.
//Petra//
