Ethical Recruitment

Our pledge — fair, transparent, worker-first

Glocal Workforce Nepal publicly commits to the ILO Fair Recruitment Principles and the IRIS Standard for Ethical Recruitment. These are not slogans — they are operating rules that govern every placement we make.

1722/081/082

Govt. Licensed

25+

Years Experience

70,000+

Workers Placed

270+

Global Clients

Certified

Ethical Recruitment

Why ethical recruitment matters

Nepal sends hundreds of thousands of workers abroad every year. For most of them, overseas employment is the single most significant economic decision of their lives — and the single greatest risk. Fraudulent job offers, inflated service fees, confiscated passports, wage theft, and forced labour are documented realities in the Nepali migration system.

Glocal Workforce Nepal was founded specifically to prove that you can run a profitable manpower agency without any of these practices. Twenty-five years later, 70,000+ workers and zero DOFE compliance violations prove the model works.

Our ethical recruitment pledge is not a marketing document. It is a binding operational standard — written into our counsellor training, our employer contracts, our complaint procedure and our management performance reviews. Below, we document in full what it means in practice.

Our relationship with the ILO Fair Recruitment Principles

The International Labour Organization's Fair Recruitment Principles are the gold standard for ethical recruitment globally. They establish that workers should not pay for their own recruitment, that job offers must be truthful, that workers must retain their documents, and that workers must have access to grievance mechanisms. GWN has publicly committed to all 10 principles.

The DOFE service-charge cap — what workers need to know

The Government of Nepal sets a maximum service charge that manpower agencies may collect from workers. This cap varies by destination country and is updated periodically by the Department of Foreign Employment. GWN publishes its current fee schedule on this website and never charges above the approved limit.

If any agency — including GWN — charges more than the DOFE-approved limit, that is a legal violation. Workers should demand a written receipt for every payment, check the DOFE fee schedule online, and report any overcharge to DOFE immediately.

ILO Fair Recruitment — our implementation

Eight commitments that govern every placement

We have translated the ILO Fair Recruitment Principles into operational rules. Below is what each principle means in practice at GWN.

Principle 1 — Employer pays

Workers are never charged above the DOFE-approved service-charge cap. On free-visa, free-ticket placements (which include most of our European channel), the employer covers airfare, visa fees and work-permit costs entirely. We refuse placements where the worker cost structure violates this principle.

Principle 2 — Transparent and truthful

Every vacancy we publish contains the real salary, real working hours, real accommodation standard and real contract duration. We do not inflate salary figures to attract applicants. We do not omit overtime rules, night-shift schedules or deduction structures.

Principle 3 — Worker owns their documents

Passports, citizenship certificates, trade certificates and educational qualifications belong to the worker. We never hold documents as collateral. We educate every worker to refuse any employer or broker who attempts to confiscate their passport — and we escalate any report of this to DOFE and the destination-country embassy.

Principle 4 — Freedom of movement

Workers have the right to terminate their contract and return to Nepal in accordance with contract terms. We do not work with employers who use debt bondage, document confiscation or physical restriction to prevent workers from leaving. Any report of these practices results in immediate escalation and employer blacklisting.

Principle 5 — Access to remedy

Workers have 24/7 access to GWN's welfare desk via WhatsApp and phone. Our complaint procedure is published openly. Workers can also escalate directly to DOFE, FEPB, the destination-country embassy, or third-party hotlines. We do not discourage or penalise workers who raise complaints.

Principle 6 — Non-discrimination

We do not discriminate in candidate selection based on caste, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or political affiliation. Our counsellors are trained to identify and report bias in employer demand letters — and we refuse demand letters that specify discriminatory criteria beyond legal job requirements.

Principle 7 — Safe and dignified work

We only supply workers to employers who provide accommodation that meets local minimum standards, pay wages through compliant systems (WPS in the Gulf, bank transfer in Europe), and maintain workplace health and safety records. We conduct employer audits — including site visits for European and Asian clients.

Principle 8 — Wage protection compliance

GWN only works with Gulf employers operating under the Wage Protection System (WPS). For European employers, wages must be paid by bank transfer with a payslip. Cash-only salary arrangements are an automatic disqualifier for any employer relationship.

Fee transparency

What workers pay — and what employers pay

We publish our fee structure openly. Every payment should come with a receipt. Compare every fee against the DOFE-approved schedule.

Fee category	Regulatory limit	GWN policy
Service charge (worker)	As per DOFE-approved schedule	We publish our current fee schedule openly. We never exceed the DOFE limit.
Airfare (free ticket basis)	Employer responsibility on many routes	On free-ticket placements, workers pay zero airfare. We confirm this in writing before any payment.
Medical examination	Government clinic fee (NPR 5,000–10,000)	Medical fee is set by government-approved clinics. GWN does not add a markup.
Trade test	CTEVT-set fee (varies by trade)	We charge the actual CTEVT centre fee. No GWN markup.
Pre-Departure Orientation	Nominal government fee	PDO fee is the standard government-mandated amount. No additions.

The DOFE service-charge schedule is updated periodically. Always check the current schedule at dofe.gov.np or ask our counselling desk for the current document.

Anti-trafficking

How we identify and prevent forced labour and trafficking

All counsellors complete annual ILO anti-trafficking identification training
Demand letters reviewed for indicators of forced labour or trafficking (restrictive movement clauses, document confiscation clauses, excessive recruitment fee reimbursement arrangements)
Workers are individually counselled on their right to refuse any element of the process
An anonymous worker complaint portal is available 24/7 at workforcenepal.com/complaint
Cooperation with Maiti Nepal and other anti-trafficking NGOs for awareness campaigns
Refusal to place workers in domestic labour roles without a valid bilateral agreement and DOFE approval
Immediate reporting to Nepal Police and DOFE of any suspected fraudulent sub-agent activity
Zero-tolerance policy for any GWN staff member who accepts undisclosed payments from workers

FEPB welfare fund — worker coverage

Every GWN-placed worker is registered with the Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB) Welfare Fund before departure. This government insurance covers:

Accidental death abroadNPR 700,000

Natural death abroadNPR 500,000

Permanent total disabilityNPR 700,000

Permanent partial disabilityUp to NPR 700,000 (proportionate)

Medical treatment (workplace injury)NPR 100,000

Repatriation of remainsFull cost covered

Return travel on contract termination (employer fault)Covered by FEPB claim

Learn more at fepb.gov.np

Recognising fraudulent recruitment

If any agency — including GWN — asks you to pay more than the DOFE-approved limit, refuses to give you a written contract before your flight, asks you to surrender your passport, or promises a job without DOFE pre-approval — these are warning signs of fraud. We have published a free guide to help you protect yourself.

Read our scam awareness guide Verify our DOFE licence