Across international hiring, one principle separates responsible partners from risky ones: workers should never pay to get a job. It is the right thing to do, and it is also the smart thing to do.
- The Employer Pays Principle holds that the cost of recruitment is borne by the employer, never the worker.
- Worker-paid fees create debt pressure that is linked to forced labour, attrition and reputational risk.
- Ethical recruitment is increasingly a compliance and ESG expectation, not a nice-to-have.
- It also simply works better: fairly recruited workers stay longer and perform better.
The problem with worker-paid fees
When workers pay recruitment fees, often borrowing to do so, they arrive already in debt. That debt creates dependency and pressure that, at the extreme, is a recognised indicator of forced labour and human trafficking. Even short of that, it corrodes trust, drives early departures, and exposes every business in the chain to reputational and legal harm.
The Employer Pays Principle
The Employer Pays Principle, promoted by leading responsible-business and labour bodies, states it plainly: no worker should pay for a job; the costs of recruitment should be borne by the employer. It has become the reference standard for fair international recruitment and underpins frameworks used by global brands to audit their supply chains.
No worker should pay for a job. The costs of recruitment should be borne by the employer, not the worker.
Why it matters to employers
- Retention. Workers who are not saddled with debt are far more likely to stay and perform.
- Reputation. Forced-labour findings anywhere in a supply chain are now front-page risk.
- Compliance and ESG. Buyers, investors and regulators increasingly require demonstrable fair-recruitment practices.
- Quality. Ethical sourcing tends to correlate with better vetting and documentation, because the agency's incentives align with the employer, not with extracting fees from candidates.
What ethical recruitment looks like
- No fees, of any kind, charged to workers.
- Transparent, written terms for both employer and worker.
- Clear contracts in a language the worker understands, with no document retention.
- Honest representation of the job, pay and conditions before departure.
- Support after arrival, not a hand-off at the airport.
Our standard
Uprovider's fees are paid by employers, never by candidates. Visa, permit and travel cost responsibilities are agreed transparently per engagement and are typically the employer's. We treat compliance and honest communication as the product, not the paperwork. That is what makes placements last.
Ask one question: "Does the worker pay anything to get this job?" If the answer is not a clear no, walk away.
Frequently asked questions
Who should pay recruitment fees? +
Under the internationally recognised Employer Pays Principle, the employer bears the cost of recruitment. Workers should never pay fees or related costs to get a job.
Why does it matter commercially, not just ethically? +
Worker-paid fees create debt pressure that drives attrition, absconding and reputational and legal risk in your supply chain. Ethical hiring improves retention and protects the brand.
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