Fatwa ID: 03798

Answered by: Maulana Irfan Ali

Question

A teacher was teaching 30 hours starting from week 2 of the month. Prior to that he was teaching 10 hours of his assigned subject whilst covering other lessons which would total 30 hours. He does not receive payment for the cover lessons even though he is made to cover in his free time, which was not mentioned at the time of starting his role. However, the finance department made a mistake in the wages and paid him in accordance with 10 hours per week for the entire month.

Is he allowed to mention that he has been teaching 30 hours from week 1 by including the cover lessons even though normally he would not get paid for these hours?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

The matter between employer and employee is laid quite clearly in Islam. Islam does not allow any employer to take advantage of his employee; rather it is mentioned in the Quran regarding paying for a service as then if they give suck to your children pay them their due payment.[1]

The prophet peace be upon him mentions giving the worker his due rights before his sweat dries.[2]

As far as the question is concerned, if one has a pre-agreement of working the extra hours without charge, then the claim of payment aside to the paid hours will be impermissible. However, if it was pre-agreed for payment for the extra time outside the original 10, then he will be within Islamic rights to claim the extra hours.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Irfan Ali

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham