31/12/2017
NEW 2018 LAW ON RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES
(DRAFT)
Summary of legal text by Macau Translations from perspective of overseas workers
PRINCIPAL PERMISSIONS AND PROHIBITIONS
- Recruitment agencies are allowed to charge and receive referral fees from job seekers applying for work from overseas
- The amount of referral fees cannot exceed the amount established by this law (details below)
- Recruitment agencies are not allowed to charge any other fees to the job seeker
- Persons already in Macau as tourists are allowed to look for work directly, without intermediary of recruitment agencies
- Recruitment agencies can make offers and referrals only to holders of Macau ID cards and to job seekers applying from overseas
- Recruitment agencies are not allowed to offer jobs to persons visiting Macau as tourists
- Recruitment agencies are prohibited from making offers of illegal employment
REFERRAL FEES
- The maximum amount of referral fees cannot exceed 50% of the 1st month’s basic salary of the worker
- The referral fees can be charged only once
- The referral fees can be charged not earlier than 60 days after the start of work
- If the worker unilaterally terminates the contract during the probation period, the referral fees must be reduced by at least 50%, or at least 50% of the fees must be refunded (if already paid) to the worker
- Apart from the referral fees in amount of 50% of the 1st month basic salary, the job seeker does not have to pay anything to anybody
WHO CAN BE A RECRUITMENT AGENCY AND WHAT ARE THE LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
- Licensed singular persons (individual entrepreneurs), companies or associations with recruitment functions can undertake recruitment activity
- The recruitment activity is subject to government licensing
- The licensing involves complying with general requirements, appropriate paperwork, payment of bond and hiring at least one recruitment coordinator
- Unlicensed private individuals cannot make job offers or referrals; if they recommend someone to a potential employer they cannot charge any referral fees for doing that
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RECRUITMENT AGENCY AND EMPLOYER
- Recruitment agency is allowed to charge service fees to the employer
- There is no maximum limit of service fees that employer may pay to recruitment agency
- Recruitment agency must make all options and amounts of service fees public
- Employer may choose the most suitable option in regards of services and service fees
CHANGE OF EMPLOYER AND END OF CONTRACT
- If the work contract is not renewed at the end of the term, the worker must leave Macau, but is allowed to apply for job again from his/her country of origin, so the whole process starts again (*)
- The interviews with the candidates from overseas may be carried out via videoconferencing
SANCTIONS
- Violations of this law are subject to prosecution and an additional fine of MOP10,000-20,000
(*) Note on the so-called ‘ban from entering Macau’: the Macau immigration authorities may restrict the return to Macau of those employees whose contracts were terminated by the employers with just cause (eg. fault of the employee) or who chose to resign from their current positions in search of better employment opportunities.
If the employee worked until the end of the contract or unilaterally terminated the contract with just cause (eg. fault of the employer), the ‘entry ban’ is not applied
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