Q: I have the following questions regarding the employment of an imaam:
1. Can the imaam claim full pay if he leads only four salaahs while his contract stipulates all five?
2. Is he entitled to a full salary during his annual four week umrah journey and five week family holiday?
3. Is he entitled to severance pay when his duties are not required e.g. if the prayer place (jamaat khana) is shut down by the government?
4. Some people think that the imaam is like a khalifah, once you employ him, the community has to support him for life, even when he is not assigned any duties.
A:
1. This is a breach of the contract. They have the right to decrease his salary for the time he did not fulfil his duties. This is similar to decreasing the wages of an employee who worked for less hours than what was stipulated in the employment contract.
2. You should ask the employers and the trustees of the organisation whether these holidays were allocated in the ijaarah contract (employment contract).
3. There is no such thing as severance pay. When you are not in the employ then you cannot claim any remuneration.
4. The imaam is not a khalifah. He is only appointed to lead the salaah. His appointment does not have to be lifelong. If the imaam is fulfilling his duties well then take good care of him.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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