Question & AnswerQ&A (POEA Memorandum Circular No. 09)
A recruitment agency may charge and collect from its hired workers a placement fee equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documentation costs.
No, agencies recruiting and deploying workers to New Zealand are prohibited from charging and collecting any recruitment and placement fees from said workers, pursuant to New Zealand's Wages Protection Act 1983 and the POEA Memorandum Circular No. 09, s. 2014.
The POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-based Overseas Workers, specifically Section 3, Rule V, Part II, govern the placement fee policy.
Section 12A of the Wages Protection Act 1983 states that no employer shall seek or receive any premium in respect of employment from the person employed or any other person.
The person who paid or whose wages were deducted may recover the amount as a debt from the employer through civil proceedings in the Employment Relations Authority or via a Labour Inspector acting on their behalf.
The circular requires strict compliance by Philippine recruitment agencies to prohibit charging placement and recruitment fees to workers deployed to countries like New Zealand where such charges are not allowed by law or practice.
No, documentation costs are excluded from the placement fee, which is limited to one month salary.
Officer-in-Charge Liberty T. Casco signed the memorandum circular.
No, charging or collecting recruitment fees from workers deployed to New Zealand is prohibited under both Philippine and New Zealand laws as referenced in the circular.
Under Section 12A(2) of New Zealand's Wages Protection Act 1983, workers can recover any unlawful deductions or payments as a debt from the employer through the Employment Relations Authority.