Reimbursement of recruitment fees
Initiative description: Continuing to work with our contractors and other sub-contracting parties to reimburse all workers engaged in the construction of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ sites for recruitment fees that they may have paid, regardless of whether they have proof of payment or were hired prior to the commencement of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ construction projects. This includes covering costs incurred by workers for recruitment and medical fees, as well as any general expenses they met during their mobilisation. We also encourage our contractors to reimburse recruitment fees for their workers not involved in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ construction projects, and promote reimbursement of recruitment fees among tournament service contractors.
The payment of recruitment fees is a global issue affecting millions of migrant workers worldwide. This practice is illegal under both international and Qatari law and prohibited by the Workers’ Welfare Standards (WWS). The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Workers’ Welfare & Labour Rights Department (WWD) worked with its contractors and their sub-contractors to ensure that workers engaged on SC projects were compensated for any recruitment fees they may have paid in their home countries. All subsequent hiring by these contractors and their sub-contractors were also to be in accordance with ethical recruitment practices.
To compensate SC and legacy workers, who were hired prior to the start of SC projects, for hardships they may have encountered when moving to Qatar, the SC set up a Universal Reimbursement Programme. Through this scheme, the SC shifted the burden of proof to contractors and their sub-contractors to show that workers had been hired ethically, as the vast majority of workers were unable to prove that they had paid illegal fees.
266 companies, with 49,000 workers (31,220 SC and 18,066 non-SC workers) have committed to the reimbursement of QAR 103.95 million of recruitment fees (equivalent to USD 28.5 million), ensuing the positive legacy that the tournament is having on workers’ welfare beyond event workers and tournament time. As at December 2022, approximately QAR 86.6 million (USD 23.8 million) had been reimbursed.
Qatar’s Ministry of Labour is also attesting all commitment letters provided by contractors and their sub-contractors, thus providing further assurance and oversight of the reimbursement process and execution.