Employer’s Permit And Recruiter’ License

[Olajire Deborah]

When we talk about an Employer’s Permit, what is the process and content of such a permit? The law has provided answers. The law says you may apply in writing in the following situations:

If you are desirous of recruiting for yourself or any other person,

or
If you are desirous of recruiting for any association of employers,

or
If you are desirous of recruiting for a public authority,

or
If you are desirous of employing for the government of any country outside Nigeria.

Your application should be directed to the Minister and should contain the following particulars:

The number of workers required;

The place where the work is to be performed;

The nature of the work;

The wages to be paid;

The duration of the proposed contract; and,
Whether or not you intend to obtain the workers through a recruiter.

If the proposed work is to be performed outside Nigeria, the Minister may require the employer to produce a letter of recommendation from the government of the country where the work is to be performed. This letter of recommendation is to certify that the employer is a fit and proper person to be granted an employer’s permit.

Upon the receipt of this application, accompanied with a letter of recommendation where required, the Minister may then grant a permit to the applicant, authorizing him to engage the number of workers required or within such area as may be specified in the contract.

This permit may allow the employer to engage workers personally or through a recruiter. This permit normally remains in force for just six months from the date it was issued.

As for recruiter’s license, the Minister is empowered under the law to grant a recruiter’s license to a fit and proper person to recruit workers for employment whether in or outside Nigeria. The person to be granted this license, though, must be a fit and proper person. By law, when such a license is granted, it is valid for a period of twelve months from the date of issue, and the notification of the grant is published in the Federal Gazette.

In granting the license, the Minister may impose any terms and conditions he deems fit, and any such term and condition as imposed must be endorsed upon the license. But one of the general conditions which the Minister may require is for the applicant to furnish such financial security or otherwise, to guarantee his proper conduct.

The Minister is empowered to suspend any license where there is any allegation of irregularity, and pending the outcome of investigations into such allegations. The Minister may also withdraw the license if the person granted the license has been convicted of any offence under the law or has so conducted himself in such a manner that would make the Minister believe he is no more a fit and proper person to undertake recruiting operations. In any case of suspension or withdrawal, such must be published in the Federal Gazette.

Some of the general terms and conditions placed on recruiting are as follows:
No recruiting operations is allowed in any area where recruiting is prohibited by the Minister by order or in a labour health area.

No recruiter is allowed to recruit workers for the service of a person who does not have a valid employer’s permit, or in excess of the number permitted, or from any area or place not specified in the permit.

No public officer is permitted to act as a recruiting agent, or to exercise pressure upon possible recruits, or to receive from any source whatsoever any special remuneration or inducement for assistance in recruiting.

No person is to act as a recruiter’s assistant unless he has been approved in writing by the Minister and has the written authority of the recruiter.

If the recruiter’s assistant or agent commits any offence relating to recruitment under the Labour Act, then both the assistant and the recruiter shall be deemed to have committed the offence and shall each be liable upon conviction to the prescribed penalty.

No recruiter is allowed to recruit any young person.

The Minister may, however, authorize the recruitment of young persons whose apparent age exceeds sixteen years, with the consent of the parent or guardian.

Nevertheless, such employment must be in an occupation that is not injurious to the young person’s moral or physical development.

If a recruiter recruits the head of a family, such recruiting shall not be deemed to involve the recruiting of any member of his family.

The law allows the family of a worker recruited to work in or outside Nigeria to accompany such a person. Where this is the case, the worker and members of his family shall not be separated, except the persons concerned themselves expressly request this. We shall talk more about the rights of family members accompanying a worker to his place of employment in section (e) below.

Every recruited worker shall be medically examined by a registered medical practitioner at the expense of the employer. Exemptions may, however, be granted in cases where the employment is in agricultural undertakings not employing more than a specified number of persons, or where the employment is in the vicinity of the worker’s homes and is not of a dangerous character or likely to be injurious to the health of the worker.
The recruiter or employer is under obligation to bear all expenses incurred for the welfare of the worker in his journey to the place of employment, including (as local circumstances may require), provision of transportation, adequate supplies of food, drinking water, fuel, cooking utensils, clothing and blankets.

The recruiter or employer is under obligation to bear the expense of repatriation if a recruited worker becomes incapacitated by sickness or accident during the journey to the place of employment, or is found medically unfit for employment, or is not engaged after being recruited for no fault of his, or is found to have been recruited by misrepresentation or mistake.

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