Saudi Arabia is bringing in recruiters to make the labor market more attractive
Last Updated on January 16, 2025 6:27 am
The Saudi Arabian government has proposed new policies for labor recruitment agencies. The country’s Ministry of Human Resources has taken this initiative to make the labor market more attractive and competitive. Public opinion has been invited on the proposal.
The United Arab Emirates media outlet Gulf News reported on Saturday that large human resources agencies must provide a bank guarantee of 10 million Saudi riyals and have a paid-up capital of 10 million riyals to obtain a 10-year license.
Medium-sized organizations must provide a bank guarantee of 5 million Saudi riyals and have a paid-up capital of 50 million riyals to obtain a five-year license. Small organizations must provide a bank guarantee of 2 million Saudi riyals and maintain a paid-up capital of 5 million riyals. Recruitment agencies will be given a two-year period to fall into any of these three categories.
The proposed policy also states that licensed organizations must be joint-stock companies listed on the capital market and their capital must be fully owned by Saudi citizens. However, foreign investors who meet the foreign investment criteria and minimum capital requirements set out in the Saudi Companies Law can also obtain a license.
The policy empowers the Ministry of Human Resources to ensure that insurance is available to cover risks related to technical, labor-related or professional failures. Insurance will be determined according to the size, nature and activities of the company. Companies will not be able to operate if the insurance period is less than six months. The ministry may request an extension of the bank guarantee based on factors such as market changes, increase in visa requests, increase in the number of complaints, delays in recruitment or contract implementation.
Institutions will be required to publish the price list of all services on the ministry-approved website. In addition, it has been mandated to provide details of authorized employees and disclose recruitment costs for coordination with Saudi embassies abroad. The proposed policy also states that licensed institutions have been asked to give priority to those proficient in the Saudi language when hiring employees.