No worker should pay for a job. If one did, the loss is ours, not his.
A recruitment fee refund policy is a written commitment that the worker pays nothing for a job we place, and that any money taken in our name is returned in full, in one payment. Because the Employer Pays Principle puts every recruitment cost on the employer, a worker refund claim is a signal that something went wrong, not that a fee fell due.
The policy also settles the employer side. When a deployment is cancelled or falls through, it states which cost lines are returnable in principle and which are third-party charges already spent, so a claim is checked against written terms rather than goodwill.
What Is a Recruitment Fee Refund Policy?
- Workers pay nothing at any stage; medical, trade test, clearance and visa are all funded by the employer, not the worker.
- Money taken in our name by anyone, broker included, is repaid in full and in one payment, without proof of who took it.
- Claims run on our own placement and payment records, so a missing receipt does not end a genuine refund claim.
- Claiming waives nothing: complaints to BMET (Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training) and court rights both stand.
What Is Refundable, and What Is Not?
Any charge that reached a worker for a job we placed comes back in full, whichever cost line it touched. Sums paid to the government directly, such as passport issuance, are not recruitment fees and sit outside the policy.
Refundable and Non-Refundable
The commitment is precise. This grid shows exactly which payments a recruitment fee refund returns, and which fall outside it.
| Payment | Refunded? |
|---|---|
| Any amount paid to us or to our staff | Yes, in full |
| Money paid to anyone claiming to act for us | Yes, in full |
| Charges for medical, trade test or documentation | Yes, these are employer costs |
| Deductions taken from wages after arrival | Yes, where linked to recruitment |
| Government fees a worker pays directly, such as passport issuance | No, not a recruitment fee |
| Money paid for a job we did not place | No, but we will help you report it |
Refunds are paid in full, in one payment, within 30 days of a verified claim. We do not pay in instalments and we do not offset a refund against anything else.
Why Does a Refund Policy Protect Employers?
Worker-paid fees sit behind most forced-labour findings in Gulf supply chains, and a published refund remedy removes that exposure from a compliance file before an auditor raises it. All our recruitment follows the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 (Act No. 48 of 2013), the statute that governs overseas employment from Bangladesh. Manpower BD recruits under Government-Approved Recruiting Licence RL-1472. Reviewed by Manpower BD Team.
Built on the Employer Pays Rule
Every cost line in a placement — medical, trade test, clearance, visa and travel — is billed to the employer under our Employer Pays Principle. Because the worker owes nothing at any stage, a refund claim is read as evidence of an unauthorised charge rather than as a billing dispute. That is why the terms are published in advance and applied without asking the worker to prove who took the money.
If You Cancel Before Deployment
Cancellation is settled line by line against the cost schedule agreed when you request manpower. Lines not yet incurred are returnable in principle, while sums already paid out — a completed medical, a sat trade test, clearance lodged with BMET or visa stamping paid to a mission — are spent with third parties and cannot be pulled back. The settlement is issued in writing so both sides work from the same written account.
If a Deployment Falls Through
When a visa is refused, a medical result blocks travel or a selected worker withdraws, the same rule applies: lines not yet incurred are returnable in principle, and third-party costs already spent are not. Replacement under our worker-replacement warranty is offered first, because a completed placement settles more than a repayment does. Either way, what was spent and what is returned is stated in writing.
If Someone Charged in Our Name
Report the charge on WhatsApp, by phone or by email; Bangla voice messages are accepted, and a family member may raise it for a worker who is already abroad. A claim can also be lodged through our grievance channel, and accepting a refund does not require withdrawing that complaint or any legal right. We then check the placement file and payment records and issue a written decision stating what will be paid.
Fee Refund Safeguards You Can Verify
The refund terms are recorded before anyone commits, so a worker can quote them and an auditor can check them against the file. Nothing depends on memory or goodwill: the scope, the claim route, the decision and the payment are each named in writing.
- Scope: which payment types come back and which sit outside the policy, fixed in advance.
- Claim route: WhatsApp, phone or email, with Bangla voice notes and family-raised claims accepted.
- Decision: a written finding within 15 working days, stating what was found and what is payable.
- Payment: in full, in one payment, to the worker’s own account within 30 days of verification.
A claim that concerns our own staff is reviewed by someone outside that placement, so nobody rules on their own conduct. The reviewer weighs the worker’s account against our records and puts the finding in writing, where it stays available to audit.
- Separation: the reviewer sits outside the placement and the conduct the claim concerns.
- Evidence: our placement file and payment records carry the claim, not the worker’s paperwork.
- Written finding: the decision states what was found, what is paid and on what basis.
- Escalation open: an unresolved claim can still go to BMET or to court afterwards.
Accepting a refund does not oblige a worker to withdraw a complaint or surrender any legal right, and claiming one has no bearing on a current or future placement. A refund offered in exchange for silence is the warning sign auditors look for, so ours carries no such condition.
- Complaints stand: a case already raised with BMET or the ministry continues unchanged.
- Court rights kept: the worker may still bring proceedings; payment waives nothing.
- No retaliation: a claim has no effect on this placement or on any future one.
- Employer records: the signed policy and the refund record are available for your audit.
How Do You Claim a Recruitment Fee Refund?
Recruitment Fee Refunds, Answered
Who can claim a recruitment fee refund?
Any worker who paid money to obtain a job we placed, where the charge was not authorised by us, can claim, whoever actually took the money. A family member may raise the claim on the worker’s behalf, and being abroad does not close the route. Employers are covered separately: a cancelled or failed deployment is settled line by line under the same written policy.
How is a refund claim checked and paid?
The claim is checked against our placement file and payment records, and a written decision follows within 15 working days. Payment is then made in full, in one payment, to the worker’s own bank account within 30 days of verification. It is not paid in instalments, and it is not offset against wages or any other balance owed to anyone.
Which payments does the refund policy cover?
It refunds anything paid to us or our staff, money taken by anyone claiming to act for us, charges for medical, trade test or documentation, and wage deductions linked to recruitment. Sums a worker pays the government directly, such as passport issuance, are not recruitment fees, and a payment for a job we did not place falls outside it, though we help report it. The test is whether the charge belongs to a placement we made.
Do I need a receipt to claim a fee refund?
No. Most compensation claims in Bangladesh fail for want of documents, so this policy does not rest on the worker’s paperwork. State how much was paid, to whom, when and where, and we check the account against our own placement and payment records. A receipt strengthens a claim, but its absence does not end a genuine one.
What happens if an employer cancels before travel?
The worker has nothing to reclaim, because no fee was charged to them at any stage. For the employer, the account is settled line by line: lines not yet incurred are returnable in principle, while third-party costs already spent, such as a completed medical or lodged clearance, cannot be recovered. The settlement is put in writing before the matter closes.