المملكة: Prevention of photos, discrimination and display in groups .. New controls governing the employment market

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has launched a draft draft “Advertising Controls on Support Services” through a “reconnaissance” platform, thus making a new framework that governs advertising content and ensures the protection of the rights of all parties concerned.
The project is based on organizational updates in the work system, and seeks to end the state of randomness in the advertisements circulating, by imposing strict controls that obligate advertisers to comply with the criteria of transparency and credibility, in a way that limits the spread of misleading ads, preserves the dignity of employment and preserves the rights of beneficiaries of citizens and residents.
The Ministry stressed that the controls will be applied to the advocates of recruitment, advertisers and platforms of various forms, to include all digital and traditional means, such as social media, electronic applications, phone messages, email, and billboards in the roads.

Save the dignity of the worker

The draft included an explicit prohibition of any practice that may abandon the dignity of employment, such as their presentation in groups or the use of phrases that carry a discrimination based on citizenship, religion or cost, and confirmed the necessity of refraining from any advertisement that includes an offer or a false or misleading statement of the consumer, whether directly or indirectly.
The draft prohibited the posting of employment photos or videos in order to promote the transfer of their services, contenting themselves with a biographical display after obtaining prior approval, to protect their privacy and data.
In the context of strengthening censorship and financial compliance, the controls stipulated the prohibition of collecting any amounts outside the official “Musnad” platform, and stressed the prevention of reference in advertisements to any commissions or fees that are directly paid to the worker or the service carrier.
The ads for the transfer of support services between employers were shortened on the “Musnad” platform, which closes the door to irregular mediators and prevents circumventing the official channels.

Advertising controls

Only the recruitment companies and offices licensed from the ministry will be allowed to publish advertisements, to be attached to the commercial name, service logo and license number, while preventing the use of the ministry logo or official platform slogans such as “Musnad” or “Agir” in the advertisement.
Advertisers were obligated to use the Arabic language as a major language, while allowing the addition of other languages, provided that they fully match the meaning. She emphasized that the relationship between advertisers and licensed companies must be documented, and not to allow them to promote employment directly, but to be satisfied with promoting companies ’services according to clear conditions.
On the side of the visual content, the draft stressed the prevention of people to show or use caricatures without permission, and to limit work interviews on individual interviews, and not to distinguish in declaring nationalities, religions or salaries.
The controls stressed the necessity of refraining from downloading the supportive worker, any financial costs under any circumstance, and prevented the inclusion of the advertisement, any hints to pay money outside the official channels.
According to the ministry, the project was prepared after a careful study and compared to successful international experiences such as the Emirates, Singapore and Hong Kong. The project was launched through the “poll” platform for a period of 30 days, with the aim of involving the concerned authorities and the general public in developing organizations in a way that ensures a balance between consumer protection and market organization.