Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut Tahrir
To the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to Question
To Sa'id Mar'i
Question:
Perhaps you have been occupied with something. May Allah help you. I wanted to remind you of my question due to my urgent need for an answer. May Allah grant you success and bring about good at your hands.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah; a kind greeting from Allah to you.
Our virtuous Sheikh;
What is the Sharia ruling on demanding end-of-service benefits for a worker who has spent years in his job regularly and received his "agreed-upon" salary from the employer without injustice or prejudice throughout his period of work?
In other words, are the end-of-service benefits stipulated in the current law in force today considered a Sharia right for the worker who has ended his period of work? And is the employer's refusal to pay the end-of-service amount considered consuming someone's right and committing a forbidden act?
Note that the current law stipulates one-third of the value of the monthly salary for each year of service for a worker who spent less than 5 years, two-thirds of the salary for each year of service for a worker who spent between 5-10 years, and a full salary for those who exceeded 10 years of service.
May Allah bless you.
I hope your eminence will expedite the answer due to need and necessity...
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
My brother, Muslims are bound by their conditions, as stated in the noble Hadith narrated by At-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, who said it is a Hasan Sahih Hadith: Kathir ibn Abdillah ibn Amr ibn Awf al-Muzani narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
وَالْمُسْلِمُونَ عَلَى شُرُوطِهِمْ إِلَّا شَرْطًا حَرَّمَ حَلَالًا أَوْ أَحَلَّ حَرَامًا
"And Muslims are bound by their conditions, except for a condition that forbids what is permissible or permits what is forbidden." (Sunan At-Tirmidhi)
Based on this, if it is stipulated in the employment contract between the worker and the employer that the worker has (end-of-service benefits of such-and-such), then it is a right for the worker according to the condition of the contract.
Similarly, if the employment contract between the worker and the employer is legally subject to the conditions of the labor law applied to the employer, and this law stipulates that the worker has (end-of-service benefits of such-and-such), then it is a right for the worker according to the condition of the contract.
However, if none of this is mentioned as explained above, and only the salary is given to him, then he is not entitled to (end-of-service benefits).
This is what I see in this matter, and I hope it is clear. Allah is Most Knowing and Most Wise.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
11 Rajab 1440 AH 18/03/2019 CE
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