Business and Dealings

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?

Paying an official to get one's work done

Q: I am in the construction industry working in a private consulting firm where we work with the public sector (government). In some projects, hard cash has to be paid to a government official for certain processes to be done quicker then the normal waiting time. For example if the process of getting a document approved is 6 weeks, payment can be made to the individual to get it approved within a week such that the deadline can be met for the client (government). Does this count as bribery? If yes, what can be done to avoid such if your boss requires it to be done?

Muslim handling haraam meat

Q: Novotel is a hotel where people stay, and they serve breakfast and dinner. In the morning, they have a buffet with various food items like bread, beans, eggs, and sausages, including pork bacon. The chef mentioned that the chicken and beef sausages are halaal.

If I work there, my tasks will include cleaning tables, carrying plates, and refilling the food, including bacon. In the evening, they also have a bar.

As a Muslim lady, can I work in this hotel for the breakfast buffet?

Sales person processing an order with silhouettes of animals

Q: I work as a sales processed in a bed factory. My work is halasl but one aspect is concerning me:

I recieve requests from customers to make bed labels which the company has already designed & they contain silhouettes of 2 animals - the silhouettes vary in size, most contain a head 1 mm in height but some larger.

Before I send the request to the printing company, the customer previews the labels where the silhouettes can be clearly seen. Would I be sinning by sending the online versions & also sending the request to the printing company to print?

Using money that was given to one to keep as an amaanat (trust)

Q: I would like to find out about some money someone gave me to look after.

Now I have used some of it for myself and haven’t told them. But in my mind I know that I have it and will return it when they ask for it. Is this ok, or should I have asked their permission before using it?

Also, I have put some of the money in an Islamic bank which gives some profit. My question is do I have to give them the profit as well as the money they lent me or just what they originally gave?