Dubai recruiter busted

Firm charged candidates to apply for jobs Discuss this article

UAE authorities are set to shut down a Dubai-based recruitment agency and press charges against its owners on allegations that the firm charged candidates for applying for jobs.

A sting operation by the Ministry of Labour (MoLfound that the company was charging job seekers for applying for jobs, a source close to the situation told Arabian Business.

The operation was one in a series of crackdowns on rogue recruiters in the country, the source said.

Execuland, a white-collar recruitment consultancy with offices on the 41st floor of Emirates Towers, was also found to be advertising jobs despite not being registered as a recruitment agency.

Nobody from the company showed up for work on Sunday, according to a receptionist outside the firm's office, and telephone calls were directed to voice mail.

UAE recruiters are only allowed to charge employers for their services.

Previously only a problem for blue-collar workers in sectors like construction, the economic slowdown has seen illegal recruitment fees spread to all parts of the market as a wave of redundancies in Gulf states created a surplus of job candidates.

Article 18 of the UAE Labour Law states that: "no licensed employment agent or labour supplier shall demand or accept from any worker...any commission or material reward in return for employment".

In a statement sent earlier to Arabian Business, Humaid bin Deemas, the acting director general of MoL, said that jobseekers asked for fees should submit a complaint supported by evidence to any of the ministry's customer offices.

The managing director of Execuland did not immediately respond to e-mails.