In September 2020, Migrant-Rights.org reported on a case labour abuse alleged against Transguard in the UAE. Workers alleged a range of labour abuses by Transguard including not paying the minimum wage stated in contracts, paying only "a small amount" while delaying the start of work, paying for food in addition to a food allowance, being unable to cook food at the camp and having salaries deducted for camp food. The recruitment agency that had supplied them to Transguard also faces allegations of abuse including charging extortionate recruitment fees that are several times higher than the legal limit; workers felt they had no choice but to pay it to obtain a job. Workers had taken loans to cover recruitment fees. When workers were recalled from project sites they had been supplied to during the COVID-19 pandemic (including Dubai airport), they were threatened to be silent as "the company management was not in favour of keeping workers and paying them". Many workers stated they had been forced to submit resignations despite ongoing contracts. In April 2021, it was announced that Transguard had signed a framework agreement with the German Pavilion to provide security, cleaning and laundry services during the Dubai Expo. The Resource Centre invited Koelnmesse, the company contracted to organise and run the German Pavilion to set out the human rights due diligence process it undertook prior to contracting Transguard, and to disclose any findings or steps it took to ensure the issues were addressed satisfactorily. The response provided by Koelnmesse’s did not address the request to disclose their due diligence process. The Resource Centre also invited the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce to do the same; they provided a response.

In September 2020, Migrant-Rights.org reported on a case of a worker who alleged that his recruitment agency had sent him abroad to work as a cleaner for a basic salary of AED800; he ended up working in a factory for Flexi Management Co. for a basic salary of AED650. He had paid extortionate recruitment fees and had taken a loan. The company employed 400 Nepalis.