Ethical Recruitment and Candidate-Fee Transparency

Last reviewed: 1 August 2026

International recruitment has a well-documented risk: costs that should sit with the employer or the recruitment business end up being pushed onto the worker, sometimes through fees that are never clearly disclosed. This guide is written for employers who want to ask the right questions of any sourcing partner — including us — before a recruitment relationship begins. It does not set out a fee schedule; it sets out what to verify.

A worker who has taken on undisclosed debt to secure a job overseas starts that job in a weaker position — more vulnerable to poor conditions and less able to raise concerns. For the employer, opaque fee arrangements further down the recruitment chain are also a compliance and reputational risk, since destination-country labour law and increasingly client-side audits scrutinise how workers were recruited, not only how they are employed once they arrive.

• What, if anything, is charged to the candidate directly, and by whom — the sourcing partner, a sub-agent, or a third party?
• Is any fee structure documented in writing and shared with the candidate before they agree to proceed?
• Who bears the cost of items like medical checks, travel, visa processing and training — the employer, the sourcing partner, or the candidate?
• Does the partner work with sub-agents in Nepal, and if so, how are their practices monitored?
• Can the partner provide their MEA/DoFE licence details and describe how their process is licensed and audited?

As a general principle, the costs of finding, vetting and placing workers are business costs — they belong to the parties commercially benefiting from the placement, not to the worker taking the job. Employers evaluating a sourcing arrangement should look for a partner who can explain clearly where every cost in the process sits, rather than one who is vague about "local arrangements" in the source country.

• Ask to see the licence under which Nepal-side recruitment is conducted, and confirm it against the relevant government register where possible
• Request that fee and cost arrangements be put in writing as part of the service agreement
• Speak directly to a sample of candidates during the screening stage, not only to the recruitment coordinator, and ask them directly whether they have paid anything to secure the role
• Build fee transparency into your ongoing supplier review, not just a one-time check before the first placement

If fee transparency and process visibility matter to your organisation — and they should — talk to us before you start a requirement.