Employer changing the employment contract
Q: I work for a religious organization Alhamdulillah they do very good work ماشاء الله
1. My original hours of work were 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. However to also avail myself for certain over and above takazas and mashwarah outside of my working times (failure to attend these outside of working time gatherings or takazas result in getting reprimanded).
Is this permissible in the shariah?
2) After 6 months I was asked to work one weekend a month (Saturday and Sunday) with no additional pay for the two days.
Is this permissible in the shariah?
3. After another 8 months they called me into a meeting in which to take responsibility in another department which the person who was hired specifically for that purpose declined due to the nature of that work. I agreed to do so on certain conditions which were supposed to be met at the end of July. However at the end of July those conditions were not met and they said I should start in that position immediately as there was no one else to fulfill it and if I refuse then my original post would become refunded and they would have to cut down on staff.
The new position involves me relocating and changing my whole schedule to accommodate this new position. It involves longer hours and an additional weekend (now two weekends in the month).
Is it permissible in shariah for them to coerce me into this position and extract extra hours and weekends from me without discussing renumeration etc.?
Also, due to the criterion not being met at the end of July I'm forced to fulfill this position from 4 different locations and as I explained to them that this will be difficult they expect me still without discussing the renumeratiin and other logistics and how me accountable for any defaults. Is the above permissible in the shariah?
In addition to working for this organization you are not allowed to be actively involved in any other business or sundry activities in your own personal time. Is this permissible in the shariah?
A: 1. This is based on the employment contract. If this was stated in the employment contract that you will need to attend these meetings, then you are supposed to attend the meetings as this is part of the contract.
2 & 3. Since this was not part of the original contract, it would be subject to both the employer and employee mutually agreeing on it. If you are not happy, you should mention to the employers that this was not part of the original contract, but if they want you to work extra, then you do not mind working extra, however they should remunerate you for your extra time and work. In this case, the original contract will be terminated and a new contract should be prepared which will be mutually agreed upon.
Putting the condition that the employee cannot work out of hours for anyone is an invalid condition that does not conform to shariah. After hours, the employee is not under the employment of the employer and hence is free to do as he pleases, on condition that there is no breach of trust from his side in regard to his employment with his employer and on condition that he is fulfilling what was agreed upon in his contract with his employer.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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