More than 200 social media accounts promoting domestic worker recruitment services without a licence have been closed, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announced on Wednesday.
The owners of the 230 accounts had not obtained licences and were not affiliated with licensed recruitment offices, which is a clear breach of the Domestic Workers Law, a ministry statement said.
It called on employers of domestic staff to only deal with licensed recruitment offices.
The closures were carried out in co-operation with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, the statement added. The ministry’s digital regulatory system protects the legal rights of all concerned parties.
Emiratis and residents are urged to report negative practices or misleading adverts on social media promoting such services by contacting 600590000. The list of licensed offices is available on the ministry’s website.
What is the law?
In 2022, a domestic labour law boosting workers' rights and clamping down on rogue recruiters and employers came into effect. The updated legislation strengthened regulations safeguarding thousands of employees across the Emirates.
The directives increased the range of offences. Punishment includes fines of between Dh20,000 and Dh100,000 ($5,450 and $27,230) and up to six months in prison for anyone who provides false information or fake documents to employ domestic helpers.
People who hire unlicensed workers, recruit staff but do not provide a job, or use domestic worker permits for other purposes will be fined a minimum of Dh50,000 and a maximum of Dh200,000.
The same penalty applies to those who close recruitment agencies without settling wages owed to domestic workers.
Fines of between Dh200,000 and Dh1 million and prison for up to one year can be imposed for attempting to employ a worker – on a full-time or temporary basis – without a permit and misusing login credentials for the ministry's online portal.
Warning signs
Last month, Dubai Police urged people to be vigilant against fake adverts after a woman was swindled out of Dh10,000 ($2,720) by scammers posing as a legitimate recruitment office.
The woman was seeking a worker to help with household duties and called the number on a social media advert. She was told a worker was available who matched her requirements. The woman was then asked to pay a small deposit to set the process in motion.
Minutes later, she received another message requesting a “delivery fee” to confirm the order, which she also paid.
This was followed by another message saying the worker was ready once a final payment was made. Eager to complete the process, the woman transferred the requested amount, which brought the total to Dh10,000. All communication ceased soon after the final sum was transferred.
In December, a domestic worker recruitment office in Ajman was shut down after a string of customer complaints.
While in July, the UAE closed down 77 unauthorised social media accounts for carrying out domestic worker recruitment services illegally.
In October 2023, nearly 50 recruitment agencies hiring domestic workers for the UAE market were closed down after failing to obtain necessary licences.
What to do if you're caught out
People caught out as a consequence of unlicensed domestic worker recruitment services can find retribution with the visa amnesty programmes regularly rolled out in the UAE.
An Indian software engineer duped by fraudsters promising a dream job with Emirates airline emerged from two years of turmoil to make a fresh start in the UAE, thanks to the country's visa amnesty campaign in 2024.
Abhijeet Ahire was living illegally in the UAE from June 2022 to October 2024, when a fake company in Mumbai offered him what he believed to be a legitimate role with the Dubai airline, only to swindle his family out of Dh24,000 ($6,500), leaving him with a mountain of debt he saw no way of climbing out of.
At the start of the amnesty programme, Mr Ahire headed to Dubai’s Al Awir centre intending to request an exit pass to return to his home country and put his bitter experience behind him.
His fortunes turned, however, after he received an employment offer from the LuLu Exchange Group, who were among the companies interviewing people with expired visas.
