RIYADH — The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) launched insurance coverage for new domestic workers coming for the first time to Saudi Arabia through the Musaned platform. The ministry said that the "Insurance on Domestic Worker Contracts" service will come into force from February 1, 2024. It clarified that the insurance coverage on contracts for the recruitment of domestic workers will be for the first two years from the beginning of the contract. This will be within the procedures for the employer's contract with the recruitment office or company. The insurance coverage after two years is an option for the employers and they can either extend or cancel it. At present, the insurance service for domestic workers is available only to Musaned clients as the ministry had previously launched it as an option for its clients since the beginning of 2023, and the number of clients who have chosen insurance coverage for their domestic help has reached more than 175000. The service has received positive interaction and feedback from customers and parties to the contractual relationship. The insurance service allows the employer and the domestic worker to take advantage of compensation in a range of circumstances, commencing from the date the house workers start their work with their employers. The insurance service on domestic worker contracts also contributes to achieving many benefits for the employer, such as compensation for recruitment expenses in the event of the failure of the worker to attend duty, ran away from duty (huroob), death or disability of the worker to perform duty or suffering from chronic diseases that hinder the worker from performing duty. The employer will also be compensated to meet the expenses of repatriation of body, personal belongings and other properties in the event of the death of the domestic worker. The insurance service also guarantees safeguarding the rights of the domestic worker such as compensation for the worker in the event of total permanent disability or permanent partial disability resulting from an accident, and to compensate him/her in the event that the employer does not commit to paying salaries and financial dues as a result of the employer's death, permanent total disability, or permanent partial disability. The insurance service for domestic workers' contracts comes in line with the ministry's efforts to develop the recruitment sector and protect the rights of the domestic worker and the employer. The ministry had previously launched the Wage Protection Program for Domestic Workers, to safeguard the rights of domestic workers' wages in the Kingdom. The Unified Contract Program for the Recruitment of Domestic Workers stipulates that there should be a unified contract binding both parties to the contract that preserves contractual rights and specifies the obligations of both parties, in addition to setting a maximum ceiling for the recruitment of domestic workers to a number of countries, and many joint agreements. It is noteworthy that the MHRSD launched the Musaned platform as one of the initiatives to develop the recruitment sector in the Kingdom, as the platform provides multiple services to improve and facilitate the recruitment journey, and resolve complaints and disputes that may occur between contracting parties, in addition to guaranteeing their rights.
