UAE suspends hourly maid services: All you need to know

Abu Dhabi - Workers can now be hired for a minimum period of seven days.

Hourly and daily maid services from Tadbeer centres have been suspended, the authorities announced on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) said it has temporarily stopped the short-term recruitment of domestic workers as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19.

Also read: Covid: UAE ministry suspends hourly maid services

Workers can now be hired for a minimum period of seven days. They are not allowed to be replaced or transferred during this period, the ministry said.

To ensure safety, household workers will also have to undergo a Covid PCR test before they are deployed. It should be taken no more than 48 hours before the service schedule.

The ministry has also called on Tadbeer centres to make arrangements for domestic workers so that they can get the Covid-19 vaccine.

It was earlier announced that UAE residents can hire domestic helpers only from Tadbeer centres starting this month. The centres, whose services are regulated by Mohre, have replaced the agencies for recruiting domestic helpers. Currently, there are 54 such centres across the country.

Under Tadbeer, hire domestic help comes in three packages, aside from short-term recruitment.

The first package supports direct sponsorship from source countries for a 180-day contract. The employer needs to provide the domestic worker with all meals, a separate room and bathroom, monthly salary and passport renewals among other accommodation related requirements.

The second is Tadbeer sponsorship that allows the employer to hire a domestic worker for 180 days and the company accepts all the costs for passport renewals, except for accommodation-related requirements.

The third package ensures same-day hiring for a two-year contract. The employer needs to ensure accommodation, salary and other requirements, such as end-of-service benefits.

Last month, Mohre — in cooperation with E11 — launched an upgraded version of the smart application ‘Tadbeer’ through which users can avail of all services related to domestic workers at any time and place.

Important information

To ensure safety, household workers will also have to undergo a Covid PCR test before they are deployed. It should be taken no more than 48 hours before the service schedule.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi