Saudi Arabia is proposing to restrict all private sector in-house recruitment roles to Saudi nationals.

The Saudi Gazette reports the Kingdom’s Ministry of Labor unveiled the plans earlier this week, covering all HR professionals, including in-house recruiters. 

According to the paper, firms face a fine of SR20,000 (£3,800) for hiring any foreigner to work in these professions.

Sara Khoja, partner at law firm Clyde & Co, told Recruiter the Saudi government’s move is not without precedent. Last month, it introduced similar restrictions covering retailers that sell and repair mobile phones. All retail operations in this sector now have to be staffed entirely by Saudi nationals.

The country’s ministry is now consulting on the proposals concerning HR and recruitment professionals.