During second-quarter inspections, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) identified at least 18 recruitment firms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that failed to meet compliance requirements and repeatedly violated regulations despite prior warnings.

The Ministry conducted these inspections as part of its ongoing efforts to regulate the sector, raise compliance levels, and ensure the protection of the rights of all involved parties. In the first quarter, at least 15 firms were penalised for violations, and five of them had their licenses revoked for repeated non-compliance.

This quarter, the Ministry added that several violations were detected, prompting regulatory actions against the 18 recruitment offices. Of these, 17 offices were immediately suspended, and the remaining one had its license revoked for failing to correct its violations within the specified deadline.

Once again, the violations recorded included “breaches of recruitment practice regulations, labour service provision, delays in refunding clients’ due payments, as well as issues related to contractual procedures,” the Ministry added.

In the previous quarter, the Ministry noted that 86 recruitment offices had been established since 2022, and raised concerns that around 80% of all recruitment offices were not properly following regulations.

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Reaffirming its commitment, the Ministry said it will continue to monitor the performance of recruitment offices and enforce penalties on those who fail to adhere to regulations.